Municipal bond tracking and evaluation system

ABSTRACT

The present invention relates to a web-application that gathers raw data and meta data, matches debt related data with corresponding meta data, marks the debt data so that the resulting data stream can be used to create various analytical reports on variable rate securities for Users.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This continuation application claims the benefit of priority tocontinuation-in-part patent application Ser. No. 13/714,894 filed onDec. 14, 2012, which claims the benefit of priority to thenon-provisional patent application Ser. No. 13/573,990 filed on Oct. 17,2012 and the provisional patent application Ser. No. 61/547,922 filed onOct. 17, 2011.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to variable rate bond obligations (“VRDOs”or “VRs,” typically public debt), commercial paper (“CP”, typicallyprivate debt) and Auction Rate Securities (“ARS”) sold in themarketplace. More specifically, the invention concerns locating,assimilating and quantifying data regarding VRDOs, CPs and ARS(collectively “Debt Securities”) sold in the marketplace to assistparties involved with such Debt Securities to increase efficiencies inissuing the Debt Securities to better rate, classify and value the same.

Variable rate demand obligations, notes or bonds are long term debtinstruments typically issued by municipalities, health careorganizations, colleges and universities and non-profit agencies andcorporations, which are sold in the marketplace for capital funding orcash management purposes. The VRDO market is an active “push” marketwhere agents actively reach out to potential investors via phone andelectronic mail to drive sales.

VRDO interest rates are frequently driven by benchmark interest rates onwhich the VRDO depends. Further, the interest rates paid on VRDOs areperiodically reset by remarketing agents based on the bids of potentialbuyers.

VRDOs frequently require a liquidity backstop typically in the form ofthird-party letters of credit (LOCs), standby bond purchase agreements(SBPAs) or backing from the bond issuer or borrower. These liquiditybackstops are typically provided by Credit Enhancement Providers (CEPs).

VDRO quality is rated by various rating agencies. However, each VRDO hasdifferent characteristics and attributes, making it very difficult toidentify or group “similar” VRDOs and to compare performance of VRDOs toobtain meaningful analysis or insight regarding pricing and performanceof VRDOs, both at the time of initial issuance and when the VRDO isresold in the secondary market.

Commercial paper (CP) consists of short-term, promissory notes offeredand issued primarily by corporations. Maturities typically range up to270 days but average about 30 days. Many companies use CP to raise cashneeded for current transactions, and many find it to be a lower-costalternative to bank loans. The CP market is mostly a “pull” market whereinventory is offered by dealers on electronic marketplaces, with lessfrequent dealer/investor interaction.

An auction rate security (ARS) is a municipal security for which theinterest rate resets on a periodic basis through an auction process. Thetypical auction process is one referred to as a Dutch auction in whichsecurities are sold at the lowest interest rate, or “clearing rate,” atwhich all of the securities that have been offered for sale by currentholders of the securities will clear the market. Auctions are conductedby agents of the issuer of the ARS, called auction agents, and ordersare submitted to the auction agent by certain dealers, called programdealers, that have rights granted to them through an agreement with theissuer or auction agent to submit orders.

Information and data regarding Debt Securities is scattered and whatdata exists is typically provided in disparate formats. Further, datasources frequently capture different information regarding DebtSecurities making it very difficult to find and use informationconcerning how a Debt Security was grouped or rated and if thatclassification was proper, (industry) sector influences, the cost ofissuance of Debt Securities, how Debt Securities performed, how the DebtSecurities compared to truly similar Debt Securities and what patternscan be gleaned when Debt Securities are compared to similar DebtSecurities.

There is a need in the marketplace to provide issuers, dealers, buyers,CEPs, advisors and rating services with real time, comparativeinformation regarding VRDOs, CPs and ARS costs, market rates, liquidity,ratings and pricing patterns.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Referring now to the drawings, wherein like reference numerals indicatecorresponding structure through the several views:

FIG. 1 is a general overview and flow diagram of the system andcommunication network of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a diagrammatic representation of an example embodiment of acomputer used in the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a flow diagram illustrating how data is obtained and combinedfrom the Debt Transaction Information Service, Ratings Data Service, andMeta Data Service;

FIG. 4 is a flow diagram illustrating how data is combined and storedfrom the Data Services identified in FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a flow diagram illustrating how the stored data in FIG. 4 iscombined to create daily rates that have associated metadata includingratings and Bucketkeys;

FIG. 6 is a flow diagram illustrating the process of retrieving datafrom data service providers;

FIG. 7 is a flow diagram illustrating the method of pulling transactionsinto a Staging database;

FIG. 8 is a flow diagram illustrating the method of pulling transactionsinto a Staging database to create a ResultSets and LiquidityFacilitiestable;

FIG. 9 is a flow diagram illustrating the method of obtaining new CUSIPSand new Ratings from a database, in this case, Bloomberg archives;

FIG. 10 is a flow diagram illustrating a method of building the currentstate of End Results given newly acquired transaction information;

FIG. 11 is a flow diagram illustrating a method of storing new CUSIPSinto the system;

FIG. 12 is a flow diagram illustrating a method of retrieving Meta Dataand Ratings for the new CUSIPS found in FIG. 11;

FIG. 13 is a flow diagram illustrating a method of determiningprecedence of credit providers when more than one provider is associatedwith a debt;

FIG. 14 is a flow diagram illustrating a method of updating organizationinformation and updating the precedence list with any changes;

FIG. 15 is a flow diagram illustrating a method of updating organizationinformation and updating debt information;

FIG. 16 is a flow diagram illustrating a method of adding neworganizations to the system as the details of Insert new organizationsin FIG. 15;

FIG. 17 is a flow diagram illustrating a method of updating the Debttable;

FIG. 18 is a flow diagram illustrating a method of adding the currentdays data into the Reset Table and Debt History Table;

FIG. 19 is a flow diagram illustrating a method of building DebtRatings;

FIG. 20 is a flow diagram illustrating the continuation of building theDebt Ratings from FIG. 19;

FIG. 21 is a flow diagram illustrating the continuation of building theDebt Ratings from FIG. 20 and inserting the final results;

FIG. 22 is a flow diagram illustrating the alert process that sends anemail when invalid debts have been found;

FIG. 23 is a flow diagram illustrating Bucketkey the process of mergingthe data from the staging database to the production database;

FIG. 24 is a flow diagram illustrating a method of generating reports ingeneral;

FIG. 25 is a flow diagram illustrating a method of generating reports;

FIG. 26 is a flow diagram illustrating a method of generating a MasterReport;

FIG. 27 is a schematic drawing depicting a broad level layout of thelayers/components of the system when computing device 20 acts as awebsite server;

FIG. 28 is an exemplary screenshot of a Group Description Page (groupingdebts by identified criteria) generated by the computer program of thepresent invention;

FIG. 29 is an exemplary screenshot of a Top Menu Page generated by thecomputer program of the present invention;

FIG. 30 is an exemplary embodiment of a table showing the labeling ofthree rating connections along with three rating organizations;

FIG. 31 is an exemplary screenshot of a Client Detail—Attributes Reportof various debts generated by the computer program of the presentinvention;

FIG. 32 is an exemplary screenshot of a Private Debt Information (datainput) Page;

FIG. 33 is an exemplary table illustrating search query information;

FIG. 34 is an exemplary screenshot of an Advanced Search Criteria Reportpage generated by the computer program of the present invention;

FIG. 35 is an exemplary screenshot of a Private Debt Information pagegenerated by the computer program of the present invention, partiallycompleted;

FIG. 36 is a an exemplary screenshot of a Report Query Management Pagegenerated by the software program of the present invention foridentifying and managing query results;

FIG. 37 is an exemplary screenshot of a Create/Edit Report Query Page,partially completed, establishing criteria for a query based on creditenhancement provider;

FIGS. 38-38WW constitute a Master Report generated by the presentinvention;

FIG. 38 is an exemplary Client Portfolio Report identifying clientdebts;

FIG. 38A is an exemplary Client Portfolio Detail Report of the samesecurities identified in FIG. 38, disclosing additional information,such as state, sector, remarketing agent, credit provider ratings, debtratings and underlying debt ratings;

FIG. 38B is a Client Summary Report illustrating an exemplary periodicClient and SIFMA average information;

FIG. 38C is an exemplary Cost of Capital Summary Report;

FIG. 38D is an exemplary Cost of Capital—Daily Summary Report whichdenotes the portfolio does not contain any daily resetting debts;

FIG. 38E constitutes an exemplary Cost of Capital—Weekly Summary Report;

FIG. 38F constitutes an exemplary Cost of Capital—Other Summary Reportwhich denotes the portfolio does not contain any debts with resets thatare neither daily or weekly resetting;

FIG. 38G is an exemplary Bucket List—Remarketing Agent Report disclosinglocated securities having substantial matching criteria to a clientidentified security or debt;

FIG. 38H is an exemplary Query Summary Report ranking debt by theclient's CEPs and remarketing agents;

FIG. 38I is an exemplary a Query Summary Report ranking debt by theclient's states and further sub queried to the client's sector, CEP, andremarketing agents;

FIG. 38J is an exemplary Query Summary Report ranking debt by theclient's sectors further sub queried to the client's state, CEP, andremarketing agents;

FIGS. 38K-38Q constitute an exemplary Query Average Rate Report for thequeries identified in FIGS. 38H-38J for various periods;

FIG. 38R is an exemplary Client Percentile Summary Report for thequeries identified in FIGS. 38H-38J which show how the client performedin each of the queries over various reporting periods;

FIG. 38S is an exemplary Client Percentile Report for the queriesidentified in FIGS. 38H-38J which show how the client performed in eachof the queries over various reporting periods;

FIGS. 38T-38U constitute an exemplary Marginal Percentile Savings Reportfor the queries identified in FIGS. 38H-38J which show how much savingsthe client could achieve by performing better in each of the queries;

FIGS. 38V-38BB constitute an exemplary Query Percentile Report for thequeries and sub queries identified in FIGS. 38H-38J which show how eachsub query compares to the overall query;

FIGS. 38CC-38DD constitute an exemplary Credit Enhancement ProviderReport illustrating the top 25 performing CEP by lowest average resetrate by daily and weekly resetting debts;

FIGS. 38EE-38FF constitute an exemplary Credit Enhancement ProviderReport illustrating the top 25 performing CEP by lowest average resetrate and having a “AA” rating or better by daily and weekly resettingdebts;

FIGS. 38GG-38HH constitute an exemplary Credit Enhancement ProviderReport illustrating the top 25 performing CEP by lowest average resetrate and having an “A” rating or worse by daily and weekly resettingdebts;

FIGS. 38II-38JJ is an exemplary Remarketing Agent Report illustratingthe top 25 performing Remarketing Agents by lowest average reset rate bydaily and weekly resetting debts;

FIGS. 38KK, 38MM is an exemplary Remarketing Agent Report illustratingthe top 25 performing Remarketing Agents by lowest average reset rate bydaily and weekly resetting debts with debts having a “AA” rating orbetter;

FIGS. 38NN-38OO is an exemplary Remarketing Agent Report illustratingthe top 25 performing Remarketing Agents by lowest average reset rate bydaily and weekly resetting debts with debts having an “A” rating orworse.

FIGS. 38PP-38RR is an exemplary General Market Statistics Report whichshows aggregate data grouped by tax status, specialty states, sectors,and ratings;

FIGS. 38SS-38TT is an exemplary States Report of debt information;

FIGS. 38UU, 38VV and 38WW constitute an exemplary STARS List Reportranking securities by overall performance;

FIG. 39 is an exemplary screenshot of a Master Report Configuration Pagegenerated by the software program of the present invention;

FIG. 40 is an exemplary Create/Edit Report Query screen page of thepresent invention;

FIG. 41 is an exemplary CEP comparison summary report of the presentinvention;

FIG. 42 is an exemplary CEP Percentile report of the present invention;

FIG. 43 is an exemplary CEP Marginal Percentile Savings report of thepresent invention;

FIG. 44 is an exemplary CEP Performance Summary report for CEPs havingat least 100 associated securities of the present invention;

FIG. 45 is an exemplary summary report illustrating the performance of aclient portfolio to other portfolios of the present invention;

FIG. 46 is an exemplary client portfolio Percentile summary of thepresent invention; and

FIG. 47 is an exemplary summary report of a client remarketing agentbucket list of the present invention; and

FIG. 48 is an exemplary listing of fields that may appear in a “QueryManagement Screen” of the present invention.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Historically, gathering information for Debt Securities wasdecentralized, inefficient and unreliable. Market participants havefound it difficult to obtain even the most basic information about keyterms and features of securities and increasingly recognize the need forsecurity-specific market participant data. The centralized, searchabledatabase system of the present invention provides a cost and timeefficient solution to this problem.

The present invention is a web-based, real time system for trackingVRDO, Commercial Paper borrowings and Auction Rate Securities referredto as the MuniPriceTracker Variable Rate, MuniPriceTracker-VR or MPT-VRsystem. The system includes one or more web based database servers incommunication with live data feeds from networked databases containingDebt Securities trade information, such as VRDO, CP and ARS daily,weekly, monthly and other periodic interest rate period resets, and MetaData or meta-tags of descriptive information regarding the DebtSecurities, including without limitation, debt issuance date, benchmarkrates, debt ratings, debt list, debt history, business sector, statesector, tax sector, interest rates, resetting history and any othercriteria of interest.

The data that is available from these live data feeds variesconsiderably from one data feed to another and is typically provided indifferent data formats. Once the data feed information is gathered bydatabase servers, the data is converted to a common format so that itcan be combined and manipulated to provide useful results.

The database servers are communicatively connected over a network to awebsite server. The Munipricetracker program resident on the website orprogram server combines Meta Data pertaining to VDRO, CP and ARS withrating information to create a searchable database of data that can beused to compare debt performance, identify patterns and ascertaininefficiencies in debt issuance based on queried debt criteria andcharacteristics.

Potential Users of the system could include:

-   -   1) Borrowers looking to lower cost of capital;    -   2) Investors of Money Market Funds and Individually Managed        Accounts looking to pick up yield;    -   3) Dealers looking to rank their own performance by sectors to        tout superior performance;    -   4) Brokers;    -   5) Advisors looking for new recurring services to provide to        existing client base;    -   6) Credit Enhancement Providers (CEP) to assess the performance        of previous VRDO and CP which the CEP is asked to enhance; and    -   7) Governmental entities.

A system User may operate the website server directly or may link to thewebsite server through a networked User computer to initiate searchqueries. A query engine, typically contained within the website server,allows the User to create unique queries to retrieve desiredinformation, evaluate patterns and compare and rank the performance ofDebt Security issuers and dealers, among other actions. The User cansave the queries for periodic performance evaluation. The user can alsosave a portfolio of their securities which is used as a compare sourcefor any query.

By way of example, queries can be conducted on the present systeminclude but are not limited to:

A) rank the performance and return statistics for, by way of example:

-   -   1) all AA-rated hospitals nationwide;    -   2) all hospitals with common ownership or management;    -   3) all AA-rated hospitals that are remarketing clients of a        particular brokerage;    -   4) all AA-rated hospitals nationwide by dealer; and    -   5) all AA-rated hospitals nationwide by credit enhancement        provider.        B) determine whether a client portfolio is properly grouped with        similarly situated securities;        C) compare performance of a client portfolio to similarly        grouped portfolios;        D) examine remarketing agent performance over time; or        E) examine general market data for various categories including:    -   1) by State    -   2) top Credit Enhancement Providers by reset type and credit        rating    -   3) top Remarketing Agents by reset type and credit rating    -   4) top Securities with lowest resets by reset type    -   3) by Credit Enhancement Type    -   3) by Credit Enhancement Ratings    -   3) by Sector    -   3) by Tax Status

By way of further example, Borrower queries might include determining ifthe borrower's cost of capital is lower or higher relative to the marketaverage and options available to the borrower to tweak its serviceprovider or enhance its credit. Investor queries would be very similarbut reverse logic would apply in order to find the best yield. Advisorsassisting either borrowers or investors would use both methods.

The unique business information obtained through this process can beutilized to deliver cost saving measures to borrowers (such asmunicipalities, health care organizations, colleges and universities,and non-profit agencies, corporations and other CP issuers), yieldpick-up for investors, dealer ranking for dealers in the business ofarranging such financing, inform advisors, assist in establishing issueor offering prices, provide information that discloses pricing patterns,groupings of debts, debt characterization and performance and creditenhancements provided in different sectors and the effectiveness of thesame, among other unlimited possibilities.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

For a thorough understanding of the present disclosure, refer to thefollowing detailed description, including the appended claims, inconnection with the above-described drawings. The present invention isdescribed infra in terms of a VRDO (by way of example only), but thesystem works equally well for Commercial Paper and Auction RateSecurities. Although the present disclosure is described in connectionwith exemplary embodiments, the present disclosure is not intended to belimited to the specific forms set forth herein. The disclosure isillustrative only, and changes may be made in detail within theprinciples of the invention to the full extent indicated by the broadgeneral meaning of the terms in which the appended claims are expressed.It is understood that various omissions and substitutions of equivalentsare contemplated as circumstances may suggest or render expedient, butthese are intended to cover the application or implementation withoutdeparting from the spirit or scope of the claims of the presentdisclosure.

It is also to be understood that the phraseology and terminology usedherein is for the purpose of description and should not be regarded aslimiting. Further, the terms “first,” “second,” and the like, herein donot denote any order, quantity, or importance, but rather are used todistinguish one element from another, and the terms “a” and “an” hereindo not denote a limitation of quantity, but rather denote the presenceof at least one of the referenced item.

DEFINITIONS

The following defined terms are used in this description of the presentinvention:

Benchmark Rates

-   -   A base index rate on which a particular security or debt        interest rate is based, typically at a margin or spread.

Borrower

-   -   A Borrower is an organization that is using funds on credit.

Broker/Dealer

-   -   The term broker or dealer is used interchangeably and sometimes        hyphenated. A broker-dealer is a term used in United States        financial services regulations. It is a natural person, a        company or other organization that trades securities for its own        account or on behalf of its customers. Although many        broker-dealers are “independent” firms solely involved in        broker-dealer services, many others are business units or        subsidiaries of commercial banks, investment banks or investment        companies. When executing trade orders on behalf of a customer,        the institution is said to be acting as a broker. When executing        trades for its own account, the institution is said to be acting        as a dealer. Securities bought from clients or other firms in        the capacity of dealer may be sold to clients or other firms        acting again in the capacity of dealer, or they may become a        part of the firm's holdings.

Credit Enhancement Provider (CEP)

-   -   A CEP is an organization that creates an instrument that        enhances the debt ratings for the Issuer/Borrower. The        enhancement instruments may include:    -   1. (L)—LOC—Letter Of Credit;    -   2. (S)—SBPA—Standby Bond Purchase Agreement;    -   3. (D)—Dedicated Line;    -   4. (G)—Guarantee Agreement; and    -   5. (O)—An instrument other than a LOC or SBPA.

CUSIP

-   -   A CUSIP is a unique identifier often used to identify bonds or        other debt obligation.

Debt

-   -   A debt is a bond or other security, including a variable rate        demand obligation, an auction rate security or commercial paper        (or other private debt). A Debt may or may not have a CUSIP if        it is private debt. The system may also use Debt ID as the        primary key throughout the database model instead of CUSIP.

Issuer

-   -   An issuer is an organization that is able to issue its own        securities. The Issuer may also be the Borrower.

Master Report

-   -   A report that contains a complete set of all client requested        reports.        Meta Data: Data regarding debt characteristics or identifiers,        including without limitation:    -   1. CUSIP    -   2. Initial Par Amount—The initial amount of Par Amount        associated with the debt. This is not necessarily the amount        that is being traded.    -   3. Date Dated—The date the bond was first put on the market.    -   4. Bond Name—The name of the bond    -   5. Description—A description of the bond    -   6. Reset Date—Date of Reset    -   7. Par Amount—The Par Amount associated with a particular reset    -   8. Issuance Type—Describes the issuance type of the debt. This        list includes but is not limited to Variable Rate Debt        Obligation (VRDO), Commercial Paper (CP Mode), and Auction Rate        Security (ARS).    -   9. Reset Type—Describes what normal interval the debt resets.        The list of options includes but is not limited to Daily,        Weekly, Monthly, Quarterly, Semi-Annual, Yearly, 1-180, 1-270,        and Unknown. Our system groups them into Daily, Weekly, and        Other.    -   10. Maturity Date—Date the debt matures.    -   11. Data Feed—Describes whether or not the data was received        from one of the data feeds or was user entered.    -   12. Is State Taxable—Determines if the debt is taxable at the        state level.    -   13. Is Fed Taxable—Determines if the debt is taxable at the        federal level.    -   14. Is AMT—Determines if is Alternative Minimum Tax is        applicable for this debt.    -   15. Remarketing Agent—Who remarkets the debt, sets the reset        rates.    -   16. State Province—What state/province is the debt from.    -   17. Business Sector—What business sector is the Issuer of the        debt considered to be from    -   18. Debt Sector—What business sector is the debt considered to        be from.    -   19. Credit Enhancement Type—What type of credit enhancement does        the debt have. This includes but is not limited to Letter of        Credit (LOC) and Purchase Agreement.    -   20. Credit Enhancement Provider—Who the credit enhancement        provider is    -   21. Credit Enhancement End Date—When the credit enhancement ends    -   22. Min Rate—The minimum rate that the variable rate can be set        to.    -   23. Max Rate—The maximum rate that the variable rate can be set        to.    -   24. Issuer—Who issued the debt    -   25. Borrower—The underlying borrower. This may or may not be the        same as the Issuer.    -   26. Rating—The rating of the debt. The system subscribes to        various Credit Rating Provider feeds and collects the short,        long, and underlying for all its Credit Rating Providers.

Ratings

-   -   A rating from a service such as Moody's, S&P, and Fitch, among        others, that helps determine the credit risk factor of various        organizations as well as the specific debts.

Remarketing Agent

-   -   An agent that is responsible for setting the reset interest        rates of the VRDO        Reset rates    -   A periodic change in the market interest rate of a VRDO. Resets        can occur hourly, daily, weekly, monthly or other periods of        time, but are typically daily.

Threshold

-   -   A specified value or limit for a monitored variable which        triggers a notification of the value or limit being reached or        surpassed.

Users

-   -   The following may be some of the typical Users of the system:    -   A. Operations Staff (OS, also Facilitator Application        Administrative Staff)        -   OS are responsible for validating the data automatically            obtained by the system and evaluating any issues that are            reported. In the event that a discrepancy is found, OS has            the ability to correct and replace the data.    -   B. Sales Staff (SS, also Facilitator Staff for Demonstrations of        the system)        -   SS may have a client account with dummy data and use it to            demonstrate the functionality offered by the service. SS            will have no additional functionality compared to other            customers.    -   C. System Clients:        -   Clients or Customers of the system may include Borrowers,            Investors, CEPS, Advisors, bank regulators, Securities            Dealers and Brokers.    -   D. Borrowers.    -   E. Investors.    -   F. Advisors (Multiple Clients Access).    -   G. Governmental entities at all levels.

The system is intended to be used by all of the Users and for all of theDebt Securities identified above. By way of illustration only, thesystem will be described as being used by a “client” of a systemprovider. The client in this illustration owns a portfolio of securitiesand will use the system to obtain information about VRDOs. It is to beunderstood that Advisors, Brokers, CEPs and other potential Users of thesystem could use the system in a like manner for information of interestto such Users.

System Configuration

FIG. 1 is a general overview and flow diagram of the system 10 andcommunication network of the present invention. In this specimenembodiment, a computing device 20 is connected (e.g., networked over anintranet or, as shown, internet 61) to one or more database servers 30.The computing device 20 obtains data feeds from one or more data baseservers 30, which in turn obtain data from one or more networked datafeed sources 32. In this networked deployment, the computing device 20can operate in the capacity of a website server or a client machine in aserver-client network environment, or as a peer machine in apeer-to-peer (or distributed) network environment. The website server 20is also in communication over a network, typically the internet 80, witha User computer 70.

FIG. 2 shows a diagrammatic representation of a computing device 20 ofthe present invention utilized as a website server. All activitiesrelated to a service may be automated from the website server 20. Theseactivities include generally, account creation, data access,notification set up, and report generation.

Website server 20 can be a personal computer (PC), a tablet PC, aset-top box (STB), a Personal Digital Assistant (PDA), a cellulartelephone, a portable music player (e.g., a portable hard drive audiodevice such as an Moving Picture Experts Group Audio Layer 3 (MP3)player, a web appliance, a network router, a switch, a bridge, or anymachine capable of executing a set of instructions (sequential orotherwise) that specify actions to be taken by that machine. Further,while only a single computing device 20 is illustrated, the terms“computing device” or “machine” shall also be taken to include anycollection of devices that individually or jointly execute a set (ormultiple sets) of instructions to perform any one or more of themethodologies discussed herein. Data feeds are automatically provided tothe database servers 30, including data pertaining to debt ratings andmeta data identifying debt trade detail. This information is assimilatedmathematically to provide the data in a common format. Meta Data isapplied to the reformatted data by the website server 20 to identifyunique characteristics pertaining to various debts indentified in thedata feeds. This allows the data to be substantively searched forvarious information of concern to the User. Again, Users may includedebt issuers, borrowers, investors, advisors, dealers/brokers, creditenhancement providers, as well as government agencies.

The website server 20 includes a processor or multiple processors 22(e.g., a central processing unit (CPU), a graphics processing unit(GPU), arithmetic logic unit or all), and a main memory 24 and a staticmemory 26, which communicate with each other via a bus 40. The computingdevice 20 can further include a video display unit 42 (e.g., a liquidcrystal displays (LCD) or a cathode ray tube (CRT)). The computingdevice 20 also includes an alphanumeric input device 44 (e.g., akeyboard), a cursor control device 46 (e.g., a mouse), a disk drive unit50, a signal generation device 60 (e.g., a speaker) and a networkinterface device 62.

The disk drive unit 50 includes a computer-readable medium 52 on whichis stored one or more sets of instructions and data structures (e.g.,instructions 54) embodying or utilized by any one or more of themethodologies or functions described herein. The instructions 54 canalso reside, completely or at least partially, within the main memory 24and/or within the processors 22 during execution thereof by thecomputing device 20. The main memory 24 and the processors 22 alsoconstitute machine-readable media. The instructions 54 can further betransmitted or received over a network 61 via the network interfacedevice 62 utilizing any one of a number of well-known transfer protocols(e.g., Hyper Text Transfer Protocol (HTTP), CAN, Serial, or Modbus).

While the computer-readable medium 52 is shown in an example embodimentto be a single medium, the term “computer-readable medium” should betaken to include a single medium or multiple media (e.g., a centralizedor distributed database, and/or associated caches and servers) thatstore the one or more sets of instructions and provide the instructionsin a computer readable form. The term “computer-readable medium” shallalso be taken to include any medium that is capable of storing,encoding, or carrying a set of instructions for execution by the machineand that causes the machine to perform any one or more of themethodologies of the present application, or that is capable of storing,encoding, or carrying data structures utilized by or associated withsuch a set of instructions. The term “computer-readable medium” shallaccordingly be taken to include, but not be limited to, solid-statememories, optical and magnetic media, tangible forms and signals thatcan be read or sensed by a computer. Such media can also include,without limitation, hard disks, floppy disks, flash memory cards,digital video disks, random access memory (RAMs), read only memory(ROMs), and the like.

The example embodiments described herein can be implemented in anoperating environment comprising computer-executable instructions (e.g.,software) installed on a computer, in hardware, or in a combination ofsoftware and hardware. Modules as used herein can be hardware orhardware including circuitry to execute instructions. Thecomputer-executable instructions can be written in a computerprogramming language or can be embodied in firmware logic. If written ina programming language conforming to a recognized standard, suchinstructions can be executed on a variety of hardware platforms and forinterfaces to a variety of operating systems. Although not limitedthereto, computer software programs for implementing the presentmethod(s) can be written in any number of suitable programming languagessuch as, for example, Hyper text Markup Language (HTML), Dynamic HTML,Extensible Markup Language (XML), Extensible Stylesheet Language (XSL),Document Style Semantics and Specification Language (DSSSL), CascadingStyle Sheets (CSS), Synchronized Multimedia Integration Language (SMIL),Wireless Markup Language (WML), Java™, Jini™, C, C++, Perl, UNIX Shell,Visual Basic or Visual Basic Script, Virtual Reality Markup Language(VRML), ColdFusion™ or other compilers, assemblers, interpreters orother computer languages or platforms.

The website server 20 serves as a gateway to request and change accountinformation and the means by which the reports are requested and served.The schematic diagram in FIG. 27 depicts a broad level layout of thelayers/components of the website server 20, including a presentationlayer 200, a controller layer 210, a business logic layer 220 and a dataaccess layer 230.

The Presentation Layer 200 represents a User graphical interfaceprovided to an MPT-VR client/User. The functionalities provided on thegraphical interface may include without limitation:

-   -   1) Client Dashboard;    -   2) Portfolio Creation for private and public debts (CUSIPS);    -   3) Reports generation and Master Report configuration;    -   4) Client Reports;    -   5) General Marketing Reports;    -   6) Comparison Reports;    -   7) Report Query Management (Query Creation and its management);    -   8) Group Creation and its management;    -   9) Interactive Charting feature for reports;    -   10) Account Management; and    -   11) CMS Menu Items, including: How To Read Reports and Report        Descriptions.

Controllers 211 in the Controller Layer 210 respond to User requests andqueries, and based on the request, communicate with other systemcomponents to produce the desired output. The controllers may use and orinteract with base controller classes, such as Repositories, ValidationFramework (Fluent Validation), IoC Framework (Autofac) for dependencyinjection and Logging Framework. The Views (GUIs) and the Controllersmight share the information through “ViewModel” classes, each containinginformation pertaining to a given View or GUI.

For reference, Repositories are a programming notion that creates aconnection to a data system (does not have to be a databasespecifically). Validation Framework (Fluent Validation) refers to aFramework (set of programming code) that is used to validate data inputsfrom the User and from the database. IoC Framework (Autofac) fordependency injection and Logging Framework is used to connect to aframework functionality at runtime instead of at compile time. ViewModel refers to a memory class that contains the data required to createa View (in the website's case HTML output).

The Business Logic Layer 220 encapsulates the domain models and thebusiness logic and may also have services to cater to a User request.This layer may also contain the custom validators derived from a fluentvalidation framework required for additional business validations. Thebusiness logic layer also creates reports in the form of PDFs, HTML, andExcel. A PDF Generation service exists on the Website server andcontains the logic to put the page numbers on the reports and to combinemultiple reports into one Master Report. It also includes the businesslogic to create dynamic queries against a reporting database. Businesslogic also exists in the way data is merged from the disparate feedssources. Business logic is also provided to handle the feed data when ahistorical value/entry is modified or canceled.

The Data Access Layer 230 may use data access technologies forcommunicating with the databases. It may implement the repositorypattern and use ORM for communication with a database.(Object-relational mapping (ORM, O/RM, and O/R mapping) in computersoftware is a programming technique for converting data betweenincompatible type systems in object-oriented programming languages. Thiscreates, in effect, a “virtual object database” that can be used fromwithin the programming language.) This layer may define the baserepository class and interfaces for the repositories.

A Master Report Service (engine or generator) 240 can be used togenerate a report in various formats, such as PDF, Excel and HTML, andmail it to a User. The Master Report Engine may, by way of example, usean Nservice Bus 250 to communicate with a Reporting Server 260 toaccomplish this task.

A number or components also comprise an “MPT Suite” of functionality.The non-exclusive components (dlls) that are shown in use in the MPT-VRwebsite in FIG. 27 include:

-   -   1. MPT.Core 261, which provides basic components e.g.        validation, messaging for all MPT applications, including access        to a centralized User/account system.    -   2. MPT.Utility 262 which provides commonly identified developer        required utility/helper functionalities.    -   3. MPT.EventSystem 263 which is used to subscribe to global        events (domain level) which have an impact across multiple        applications. The Event system may inform all the Entities        (applications or objects inside the applications) that have        registered for the occurring event and use a call back to invoke        actions from these Entities.    -   4. MPT.Reporting infrastructure 260 using NserviceBus 250. This        PDF generation service consists of a web service and an http        server that communicate to the outside world using NserviceBus        and HTTP requests. MPT VR may use the Report web service to        upload data using an http request and register with the        NserviceBus to receive notification of the report generation        being completed. Upon completion, the Report Web service will        notify MPTVR and the MPTVR may use another HTTP request to get        the report in the PDF format    -   5. Reporting WebService 270 enables report generation using HTML        & XSLT.

Resets

All debts have reset rates every day of the year on which they areoutstanding. When comparing the debt counts at a given point in time tothe debt counts at the start of a year, the beginning debt count can beachieved by viewing debts that had resets on December 31. The holidaysand dates which have no value may be managed as per the section Resets(How to calculate).

Because the data going into the system is comprised of many differentand disparate inputs, with many data providers not knowing the correctway to input reset around weekends and holidays, certain assumptions maybe used for the various calculations required. For instance, Resetaverages may be based on every day having a reset value. All averagesmay be based upon a set period (Daily, Weekly, Monthly, Quarterly,etc.). In the present system, each reset has an effective date (Date)which is the date the rate starts to apply. That rate stays into effectuntil the next reset date. When calculating the average for a period,the reset dates within that period are filled in the values that aremissing between reset dates. If the last reset date falls before the endof the period, in one embodiment of the present invention, that rate maybe used for the rest of the period. For instance: Daily Reset for theweek of April 11-April 18

4/11 4/12 4/13 4/14 4/15 4/17 4/18 .005 .0055 .0048 .004

Filled Out Values

4/11 4/12 4/13 4/14 4/15 4/17 4/18 .005 .005 .0055 .0048 .004 .004 .004

Average=0.004614=(0.005+0.005+0.0055+0.0048+0.004+0.004+0.004)/7 ResetPeriod

The system tests the period entered from the data feed. If the periodend date ends on a holiday or weekend, the system extends that resetperiod until the next business day after.

Issue Type

As holidays and weekends cause reset periods to fluctuate, the followingrules may be used, in one embodiment, to classify the Issue Type:

-   -   1. Daily—Any reset less than or equal to 4 days;    -   2. Weekly—Any reset between 5 and 10 days; and    -   3. Other—Any reset greater than or equal to 11 days.        User Vs. System Data

For some of the data, such as private debt like CP, the system may askthe User to provide the most accurate values according to the User.Rather than dismissing the public system data, User entered datapertaining to debt and rates are only pertinent to that User. This meansthat if a User updates the business sector for its debts to all be thesame because the system set them differently, when a query is performed,the query uses the system debt for system results and client debt forclient results. A data feed column may be used to determine the sourceof such values.

To ensure that privately set data has an opportunity to be updated bythe data feeds, a notification system may be created that may notify theUser whenever public data changes. This would alert the Users of thechange and allow them to enter their own value if the public data isincorrect or to take the public values.

System Data Notification

An additional feature may be signing up for notification of any changesin the Public (System) meta data including ratings for anything that isassociated to a client's portfolio. This may allow the client to seewhat changes are happening that they may not be aware of or areexpecting to see updated in the system.

CUSIP vs. Debt ID

As the privately entered data may not be associated with a CUSIP, thesystem associates all debt information using Debt ID instead. This mayallow the User to define their own 9 character ID or use a SystemGenerated ID when referencing private data. The private data may only beaccessible via that client.

System Generated ID (Optional)

The system generated ID may be created as follows:

1-3=“MPT” 4-6=Last 3 of Organization ID

7-9=Sequential numbers starting at 000 (Allows for 999 debts per client)

Data Feeds

Both public and private debt or securities data exist. Publicinformation is generally retrievable by the system provided theinformation is electronically available. Both public and private datathat is published or is available to a client or User can be manuallyinput into the system as well.

The database servers or machines 30 (FIG. 1) generally refer toelectronically available data (public or private) collect data andinformation pertaining to VRDO and CP through networked data feedservices 32. This information may include, by way of example and not bylimitation, Rate and General Debt transaction Information 72 (such asEMMA, discussed infra), Debt Ratings Data 74 (obtained from a servicelike Bloomberg L.P., a premier site for business and financial marketnews), Meta Data 76 (available from a service like Bloomberg) pertainingto one or more traded debts (securities), and Benchmark Rates 78(available from a service like Securities Industry and Financial MarketsAssociation (SIFMA), a leading securities industry trade grouprepresenting securities firms, banks, and asset management companies inthe U.S. and Hong Kong) and daily rates available through services likeBloomberg) applicable to Debt. This data is processed in a Databaseserver 30 to create a Reporting Database 86 that can be accessed overnetwork 61 by the website server 20. From the Reporting Database 86, thewebsite server 20 is able to generate various reports in response toqueries from a User 12 sent from User machine or computer 70. Thereports may be generated in different formats, including withoutlimitation, in HTML, PDF and Excel. User computer 70 includes a browser71 for accessing the website server 20 via internet 80 (or othernetwork) and for allowing User input to create queries from which thewebsite server 20 generates reports.

Various data feeds may be imported into the system to the common MPT-VRdatabase 30. Data may be added to the system using daily batch feeds.The data feeds may populate the reporting database with appropriatevalues and may have their own historical databases. The system may useexternal storage to save the raw data for data sources that do notproduce end of day values. As most of the feeds the system receives arebased on independent data feed sources that do not have a standardmethod of entering data, the system is vigilant in verifying the dataand correcting the values if needed.

The data components required for system operation may include thefollowing, which may need to be updated at a desired frequency(typically not more than once per day):

-   -   1. Variable Rate Values:        -   a. Data feed.    -   2. Meta Tags describing debt:        -   a. Data feed;        -   b. Operations entered; and        -   c. User entered.    -   3. Ratings (may include other services than those identified        below):        -   a. Data feed;        -   b. S&P;        -   c. Moody's; and        -   d. Fitch.    -   4. Additional Analytics (may include other services than those        identified below):        -   a. Bloomberg; and        -   b. Market Data Management.    -   5. Market Data—periodic (typically day end) values:        -   a. Data feed (may include other services than those            identified below):            -   i. LIBOR; and            -   ii. SIFMA.

In some embodiments, the computing system includes a module formonitoring a benchmark index on which an interest rate of the selectedinvestment depends. The index monitoring module monitors prices afterthe initial sale or initial public offering of an investment. In oneembodiment, the index monitoring module utilizes the internet connectionand finds one or more data bases related to the index being monitored.

Ratings

Ratings may be set by a number of methods:

-   -   1. M—Max Rate;    -   2. F—Set by Formula;    -   3. R—Set by Remarketing Agent;    -   4. H—All Hold Rate; and    -   5. A—Set by Auction.

Credit Ratings may be provided for the following entities:

-   -   1. CUSIP (debt);    -   2. Borrower (Underlying);    -   3. Credit Enhancement Provider (CEP); and    -   4. The ratings of a particular debt may be the greater of the        Borrower or CEP rating. That rating may be used to compare        against other debt of the same rating to determine if the        remarketing agent is pricing the debt using the proper rating.

Ratings may be connected in at least 3 different ways:

-   -   (1) By Debt        -   The rate used to determine the credit risk of the debt. This            is independent of Borrower and Credit Enhancement Provider            (may be the higher of the two). Some debt may not have a            rating; if it does, the rating may be found in the            DebtRating table. ‘N/A’ may be used for any missing ratings.    -   (2) By Credit Enhancement Provider (CEP)        -   This is the rate of the CEP Organization. This may be            connected via the CreditEnhancementProviderID and the            OrganizationID in the OrganizationRating table. Some debt            may not have a CEP. ‘N/A’ may be used for any missing            ratings.    -   (3) By Borrower (Underlying)        -   This is the rate of the Borrowing Organization. This may be            connected via the BorrowerID and the OrganizationID in the            OrganizationRating table. Some debt may not have a Borrower            rating. ‘N/A’ may be used for any missing ratings.

Reports may show all three rating connections along with all threerating organizations as shown in FIG. 30.

At least two options exist to filter ratings:

-   -   (1) Query by Rating Groups; and    -   (2) Query by Per Rating.

Following is a list of common terminology used with resets:

1. Daily/Weekly The results may include only Daily & Weekly resettingdebts. 2. Minimum Rate The lowest rate from the results. 3. Maximum RateThe highest rate from the results. 4. Average Rate The average rate fromthe results. 5. Versus Avg. SIFMA The average SIFMA rate over the periodof the request subtracted from the Average Rate for all the results.(Average Rate − SIFMA Average). 6. Versus Avg. Client The average valueof any client debt that is included in the results subtracted from theAverage Rate of the results. (Average Rate − Client Average).

Debt Rating information can be utilized for both private or non-privatedebt. Organizational ratings are managed by the present invention. Forinstance, there may be a need to separate services such as Moody's,Fitch, and S&P into Short and Long Term ratings and to separatelydisplay these ratings. The system can also provide ratings forindividual debt. This may be accomplished by a data feed driven device.When clients enter their own debt, they are able to associate applicableratings to their debt.

Ratings can be viewed and printed by the system. A View/Edit Ratingsscreen and functionality may show all long term and short term ratingsfrom all the rating agencies associated with a Debt including, but notlimited to:

-   -   1. Debt Rating;    -   2. Issuer Ratings;    -   3. Borrower Ratings; and    -   4. CEP Provider Ratings.

The User may also edit the Debt Rating if it is incorrect. The DebtRating changes may be saved in the system as set by the User and may belimited for use only in connection with the User's own statistics.

Private Debt Rating

This may be drop-down lists from the ratings in MPT-VR system and mayinclude, among other possibilities:

-   -   Moody's Short Effective Date    -   Moody's Long Effective Date    -   S&P Short Effective Date    -   S&P Long Effective Date    -   Fitch Short Effective Date    -   Fitch Long Effective Date

A CUSIP may be added to the portfolio from the system. If it cannot befound, an alert is provided and the User may be presented with theseoptions:

-   -   1. Search for Similar CUSIPs        -   a. This will send the User to the Add Debt by CUSIP lookup            to search for CUSIPs that have the same starting Issuer            description (first 6 chars).    -   2. Manually Enter Debt        -   a. This will send the User to the Manually Enter Debt page.    -   3. Cancel        -   a. Returns the User to Portfolio page leaving the entered            value in place.

For private debt without CUSIPs, the Users may be able to enter in thegeneral information for the debt, as well as date-centric resets andratings, which are not publicly known. The primary means may be byrating groups as a drop down menu. Per rating may be an optional choicethat will bring up a popup (modal) window and allow Users to choosespecific ratings.

To make it easier on the User, the system may define groups across allthe rating agencies so that the system can define, by way of example,AAA rating as Moody's Aaa OR Fitch AAA OR S&P AAA. The rating groups maybe the primary way to select ratings and may have a drop down list. TheUser may also be able to define a rating or group of ratings only forhimself that can be used as a filter. The User can select ratings of hischoice and give the rating or group of ratings a relevant name. Duringexecution of a query for the filter criteria, the system may check ifthe debt rating falls within the list of defined ratings.

All ratings may be considered against other ratings. For example, theUser could compare any debt rated Moody's Long Debt Rating Aaa to anydebt rated S&P Long Debt Rating AAA. The system may provide the Userwith a matrix of check boxes for each rating, ordered by ranking. Thiswill allow the User to compare any groups of ratings.

The system may treat each rating type (Long/Short) as a Rating Agency inthe Organization table, such as Moody's, S&P, and Fitch. The systemoperator may add others, such as Moody's Short, S&P Short, and FitchShort.

Top Menu

The top menu of the system consists primarily of login/account options.The following links may also apply:

-   -   1. Dash Board    -   2. My Account        -   a. Change Password;        -   b. Edit Account; and        -   c. Edit Login.

These refer to the main MPT Login and Account management, not theindividual services (Compliance, VR).

Dashboard

A Dashboard Page contains summary data for the client's portfolio andcomparisons of top performing sector, state, credit enhancement providerand remarketing agent against the clients top performing sector, state,credit enhancement provider and remarketing agent. It also has links tothe complete listings for each comparison. The summary data compares theaverage rate for the client against the average rate for SIFMA for thecurrent day, week, month, quarter, and year to the prior week, month,quarter, and year.

Account Creation

Account creation can be accomplished by a program operator. The operatorinputs identification of customer data, such as customer name andaddress, individuals authorized to access the system and the person orgroup responsible for receiving information and the type of informationthat is authorized to be retrieved and viewed. Once an account has beenestablished for a User, the user can browse to a Home Page that iscreated by a Content Management System (CMS) and system Users may loginto the system website via the User networked computer 70 with aUsername (personal identifier), password and/or email address orcustomer number. (The CMS delivers simple updating of non-logged in Usercontent (content accessible without logging into the system). Exampleson compliance module are ‘How to Read Reports’ and ‘ReportDescriptions’. Further, a PDF Generation Service may interact with theCMS service to upload data for reports. Upon completion of the reportgeneration, the calling application may be informed through the eventsystem and the report may be fetched though another http call.)

Alternatively, a User may self enroll. The User is directed to a HomePage generated by the CMS. At the Home Page, the User is directed to aSign In Page. If the User is new to the system, the User is directed toa Create Login page. The User may enter the following information:

-   -   1) Username;    -   2) Password (Twice to verify); and    -   3) Email Address (Twice to verify).

An email is generated to the User directing the User to an EmailVerification Page to verify the login. After verification of the User'sunique Username and matching password, the User is enrolled. The EmailVerification Page may also be used to notify a User that he/she/it hasnot validated his/her/its email yet. All authorized pages of the programmay direct the User to the Email Verification Page until the Userverifies his/her/its email.

If a User has previously enrolled, a Sign In Page is provided for theUser to login to the website and includes the following:

-   -   1. Textboxes:        -   a. Username:        -   b. Password—validates the User login    -   2. Buttons:        -   c. Sign In—sends the User to a Dashboard Page    -   3. Links        -   d. Forgot Password—sends the User to a Forgot Password Page        -   e. Create Login—sends the User to a Create Login Page

Any time the User logs in, the User may also be directed to an EditPage. This page may be used to edit a User's login information. The Usermay edit the following information, among other things:

-   -   1) User ID;    -   2) Password; and    -   3) Email Address.

The system also includes an Edit Account Page used to edit a User'saccount information. This is the same information that may show onreports. The User may enter the following information:

-   -   First Name    -   Last Name    -   Title    -   Organization    -   Address #    -   Address 1    -   Address 2    -   City    -   State    -   Zip    -   Phone

A Forgot Password Page allows the User to retrieve their password ifthey forgot it. This page includes text boxes for a User name and emailaddress and a button for retrieving the User's password and a link to asign in page. The Retrieve Password button verifies the User name oremail address and sends an email with a rest password link. The systemperforms validation of the password in New Password and Confirm NewPassword fields and if the passwords are the same, the system submitsthe new password for the User to the system.

The User must accept the terms of use of the program before any otherprogram functionality is accessible. A User Agreement Page displays theUser agreement and if a User has not agreed yet includes “I Accept”button that when clicked, saves the accepted User Agreement to thesystem and sends the User to the Dashboard Page.

The system may have a provision for Users to be assigned to anycombination of Services and Accounts. This permits Advisors,Brokers/Dealers and others to use any and all authorized or permittedservices for their respective customers. Additionally, the MPT frameworkallows multiple accounts for multiple services. When accessing thesystem, Users are tasked to select which type(s) of service(s) the Userwants to use. User permissions, which may be based on specifiedcriteria, will control what service levels, screens and reports may beviewed or utilized by a User.

Following Login

Upon validation of the login and acceptance of the terms of use, theUser may be able to search a list of organizations to find informationabout their own organization. If the User cannot find this information,the User may be allowed to create a new account or organization or theOperations Staff may create the new account or organization for them. Ifa User organization has merged with another User, the system can beinstructed to track the merger so that requests for parent organizationinformation will automatically be associated with children organizationinformation.

The User may be given the option to utilize all services the User isauthorized by the system to use, such as “Compliance” or “VR”.Compliance covers tax compliance issues for issued debt and is thesubject of a companion patent application filed Jul. 30, 2010 asapplication Ser. No. 12/847,796, Publication Number 2012/0030136 A1,which is incorporated herein by reference. The VR service is the subjectof this application. They both exist on the same website as separatemodules that share a common home page, login, and general accountinformation. If the User is only authorized for one service, the Userwill be directed to that service with which they have an active account.

If the User does not have an active account, the User may be redirectedto a page informing the User he/she has no active account, and directingthe User to contact Operations Staff. Operations Staff manages theMPT-VR program. Clients may also be able to go to a portfolio data inputscreen where the User may input a list of CUSIPs that the User has inhis/her/its portfolio. The CUSIPs will drive debt comparisons onpredefined reports programmed into the system.

The website should contain the following capabilities:

-   -   1. Master Report Sections:        -   a. Cover Page;        -   b. Table of Contents;        -   c. Disclaimers;        -   d. Client Summary;        -   e. Client Percentile Summary;        -   f. Client Portfolio;        -   g. Client Portfolio Detail;        -   h. Cost of Capital Summary;        -   i. Cost of Capital by Issue Type (Daily, Weekly, Other);        -   j. Stars List;        -   k. General Market Statistics—General;        -   l. General Market Statistics—States;        -   m. General Market Statistics—CEP;        -   n. General Market Statistics—Remarketing Agent;        -   o. Bucket List Reports—One section for each Remarketing            Agent in portfolio;        -   p. Comparison Reports:            -   i. Client Query Summary;            -   ii. Query Percentile Scorecard;            -   iii. Marginal Percentile Savings; and            -   iv. Query Average Rate Report (Optional).        -   q. Hedge Report.    -   2. Groupings:        -   a. Create Groups; and        -   b. Maintain Groups.    -   3. Query Management:        -   a. Query Creation—Filter, Sources, Sub-query, Show in            results; and        -   b. Query management—listing, delete, edit and show in Master            Report interface; and        -   c. Auto Query generation.    -   4. Edit Portfolio:        -   a. edit ratings;        -   b. Edit meta tags; and        -   c. Edit public data.    -   5. Query Management:        -   a. Use Ratings group for query filters.    -   6. Cost of Credit Enhancement Provider Input—for client and non        clients.    -   7. Dynamic/Interactive charts on existing and new reports.    -   8. Service Level permissions:        -   a. Report Permission Management;        -   b. Website screen permission management; and        -   c. Display/Edit permission for User on reports.    -   9. Hedging:        -   a. Hedge related reporting; and        -   b. Asset Liability Association.    -   10. Threshold:        -   a. Setup, monitoring and notification.    -   11. Use cases for Investors—A provision to log into the system,        where they may be using the analysis provided by Facilitator to        determine in which debt to invest. For investors, this        application may include additional charts/reports.    -   12. Granularity of Report Level Configuration in “Master Report        Configuration Section”.

Debt View

A side menu, shown in FIG. 28, provides program functions. Side Menuitems may be added/disabled based upon where the User is navigating inthe program and includes:

-   -   1. Dashboard—Sends User to the Dashboard page.    -   2. Portfolio—Sends User to the Portfolio page.    -   3. Master Report—sends User to the Master Report Configuration        UI.    -   4. Client Reports—list of available reports that are relevant        for clients.    -   5. General Marketing Reports—contains the list of available        general market reports.    -   6. Query Comparisons Reports—contains the list of available        query comparison reports.    -   7. Report Query Management—Opens a page the may enable User to        create queries for reporting and thresholds.    -   8. Group Creation—Opens a page that may enable User to        edit/delete/create groups used for query creation. See FIG. 28.    -   9. How to Read Reports—Sends User to the How to Read Report        page.    -   10. Report Descriptions—Sends User to the Report Descriptions        page.

Administration

On the high level view, the Administrative functions include the abilityto grant or deny any permission to a login or account. Those permissionsinclude but are not limited to login permission, account accesspermission, and access additional functionality such as creating excelreports. Additional Administrative functions include the ability toimpersonate any User/Account so that the system operator can interactwith the system as a Client without having to know the client'spassword. This is used to trouble shoot issues clients incur.

Administrative Users may have access to managing accounts. The dashboardfeed may include VR accounts and portfolio management. Some datainput/management may also be required by Operations Staff. This may bedone via an Account Management System (AMS). AMS information is storedin a database. An interface can be defined to enable interfacing withthe AMS data to provide organization, rating and threshold management.The organizational management developed in AMS may be used for thepurpose of tracking organizations associated with VR debt. Tags such asState, Sector, etc. may be associated with the debt.

A Client Portfolio page, see FIG. 38, may contain the list of or link todebts associated with the User. If there is no portfolio there may be aCreate Portfolio link for creating a portfolio. The Portfolio List maybe similar to the graphic shown in FIG. 29 (in Create Portfolio Page).Additional options on the Client Portfolio Page include:

-   -   Delete Link: Deletes the debt from the Portfolio    -   View/Edit Ratings: Brings you to the View/Edit Ratings Page    -   Details: May show all the details that pertain to the deal        including connections to Issuer Ratings, CEP Provider Ratings,        and Borrower Ratings.

The Create Portfolio page will allow the User to define all the debtassociated to them. Users will be able to create their portfolio fromall the CUSIP associated debt in the system. The first step inidentifying CUSIP related debt is to find all debt associated with theirorganization ID.

When the page loads, a popup may show asking the User if they want topopulate their portfolio based on all the debt associated with theirorganization. This will search the system for any debt that has the Useras an issuer or borrower; if they are in a parent or child organization,they may be given the option of searching for both.

Portfolio creation actions include:

-   -   a) activate-inactivate debt;    -   b) CUSIP Basic search;    -   c) CUSIP Advanced search; and    -   d) Dashboard.

The results may show on a grid with the CUSIPS and some of the relateddata. The system data may auto fill and the User could potentiallychange the system values (See User vs. System Data). AdditionalLinks/Buttons could include:

-   -   1. Add New CUSIP using a text box;    -   2. Advanced CUSIP Search; and    -   3. Manually Enter Debt.

Referring to FIG. 35, the following information is typically required toenter a private debt into the system:

-   -   1) Description/Issue Name;    -   2) CUSIP/Debt ID (Leave blank if not CUSIP, system may        generate);    -   3) Series;    -   4) Dated Date;    -   5) Initial Par;    -   6) Outstanding Par;    -   7) Rate Mode (Daily, Weekly, Other);    -   8) Final Maturity;    -   9) Tax Status;    -   10) Non-AMT/AMT;    -   11) Remarketing Agent ID;    -   12) State/Province ID;    -   13) Business Sector ID;    -   14) Credit Enhancement Type;    -   15) Credit Enhancement Provider ID (If type not self-liquid);    -   16) Credit Enhancement End Date (If type not self-liquid);    -   17) MinRate;    -   18) MaxRate; and    -   19) IssuerID (If different from client).

Private and Updated System values may create new entries in the DebtHistory table.

The Name field in the AccountDebt table may be the same as the CUSIP inthe Debt table, otherwise it may be a system generated value and theCUSIP field may be NULL.

CUSIP Basic Search

A control inline in the page may allow the User to search for Debt basedon the Meta Data associated with all deals. At a minimum the followingfields may be searched for:

-   -   1. CUSIP;    -   2. Organization Name:        -   a. Returns matches on Issuer, Borrower, Remarketing Agent,            CEP Provider;    -   3. Issue Type (Daily, Weekly, Other);    -   4. Issue Name;    -   5. State; and    -   6. Sector.

The results from the query may show the Current Debt History values forthe debt and a checkbox by each. There User may be able to check eachdebt the User wants to add to the portfolio with a button that willtrigger addition of the debts and then return the User to the createportfolio page.

CUSIPS may be added in the framework shown in FIG. 31. A User may enterentire a CUSIP to the system. The system will attempt to match theentire CUSIP to an existing CUSIP in the system. If no match is found,the system may populate the Search CUSIP Text Field with the first 6characters of the CUSIP and perform a search. In the Search CUSIP TextField, the User may enter any type of search parameter that a full-textsearch could use to locate a particular debt. This search will perform aFULL-Text type search against at least the following fields:

-   -   i. Debt.CUSIP;    -   ii. Debt.BondName;    -   iii. Debt.Description; and    -   iv. AMS.Organization.OrganizationName.

Results of the search are shown in a Search Results Panel.

CUSIP Advanced Search

If the desired CUSIP is not found through the above mentioned processthen the User may click an “Advance Search” button. Upon clicking the“Advance Search” button, the “Advance Search UI,” shown in FIG. 32 willbe displayed inline. As the User starts entering the initial CUSIP IDletters (after six letters), the “Search Results” section will displaythe matching CUSIPS through an intellisense functionality. However, ifthe User attempts to fill in other details, the intellisensefunctionality will stop populating the result and the User will need toclick the Search button to find CUSIPS that match the additional searchparameters.

If some CUSIPS are found satisfying the “Search Criteria”, those CUSIPSwill be displayed in the “Search Results” section, where in the User canselect the individual CUSIPS and, by clicking an “Add” button, add thelocated CUSIPs to CUSIPs list. The User can further refine the search byproviding extra search filters as shown in the UI in FIG. 33.

Reports

A Report menu may contain FAQ style information about how to readreports and understand the significance and relevance of the data in thereports. This functionality may also be integrated with CMS. The menuwill typically include a brief description of all the reports availablefrom the system and may again be integrated with CMS.

Report Generation

Users may also be able to enter queries and create groups that may beused to generate Comparison Reports that include a summary line for eachquery/group and then create a matrix report that shows the percentileperformance, comparing each of the queries/groups. (See ComparisonReports infra for additional specifications.) Based on the results ofthe Comparison Reports, Users can set up Threshold notifications thatmay alert them, typically by email, when an aspect of the percentileperformance moves past a threshold. Thresholds can be set as greaterthan, less than, or within a range.

Users may have the ability to select the following report criteria,among many other options:

-   -   1. What Comparison Report queries may be included in the Master        Report.    -   2. The pre-determined frequency for automated reports (weekly,        monthly, quarterly, etc.).    -   3. Report generation date range or reporting period.    -   4. Settings specific to each report.

The Report may be generated based on settings selected by the User viathe Master Report Configuration User Interface (“UI”). Users may also beable to enter information about their CEPs, including cost. This datamay be combined with other clients' data and some outside data sourcesto allow querying against that data to see how a client's provider costcompares to other provider costs.

Users may view interactive charts. The charts may be interactive basedon the period of the chart and based on the frequency of the points thatneed to be incorporated, i.e. daily, weekly, monthly or quarterly.

Prototype reports may be delivered in PDF format or Excel or be viewedonline in HTML. Reports may be automatically/manually generated and sentto client via mail or email and may always be available online fordownload based on client conFigured settings. Users may have ability tointeractively view and then export reports to PDF.

Queries Description

-   -   1. Main Query:        -   a. This is a filtering query to be applied to specified data            sources.    -   2. Main Query Sources:        -   a. The sources that the Main Query may be applied to            include:            -   i. All Debt;            -   ii. Client Portfolio; and            -   iii. Groups:                -   1. Groups may be pre-created; and                -   2. A Create Group option may be available on the                    query page which would direct Users to the create                    group page, then return them to the query page                    (Pop-up/Modal).    -   3. Sub Query:        -   a. There can be zero to many sub queries which may perform            additional filtering. This may be identical with step 1 with            the exception all Step 1 filter options that have been            exercised may be disabled. Each sub query may have a result            line for each source identified in step 2. They may be            labeled “<query name>-<source name>”, with the exception            that All Debt may just show the query name.    -   4. Show sources in results:        -   a. Sources may be displayed in the results. For instance,            the system could generate a label stating “Show sources in            results?” and a check box for each source in step 2. The            system may also default check each box.        -   b. Sources that are checked may have a result line with            their name and aggregate data.

Queries Graphical User Interface (GUI) Detailed Description:

-   -   1. Referring to FIG. 40, in one embodiment, the Query management        menu item in the left menu is programmed to load a query        management UI, which may enable a User to Add, Edit, or Delete        queries. However, if the list of queries is empty, the system        may authorize the User to add auto generated queries. (See Auto        Generated Queries below.)    -   2. Edit/Add new query link/button may enable the User to create        new queries which may load a query creation page.    -   3. Query creation page: Through this GUI the User can design        their “main query” and associated “sub-queries”. The main query        may run against a selected set of sources and the sub-queries        may perform the additional filtration on the output of the main        query.    -   4. The search parameters not selected in the main query may be        disabled during the associated sub-query creation unless ‘any’        is selected which implies ‘all’ or ‘no filter’.    -   5. As part of selection of filter criteria, Users can select        ratings to filter against. Additionally, the system may include        a provision to create customer defined ratings groups.        -   Ratings Groups Edit/Add:        -   a. This may be a drop-down containing system defined ratings            groups as well as customer defined ratings group.        -   b. There may be a button to the right of the drop-down that            may either say “Add Ratings Group” if a system defined group            is selected or “Edit/Add Ratings Group” if a customer            created group is selected.        -   c. When the button is clicked it may bring up a popup that            may allow the User to click on the individual ratings.        -   d. The popup may contain the following components:            -   i. List of customer created groups with edit buttons                associated to each.            -   ii. “Add Group” Button            -   iii. Currently selected Group Name            -   iv. Checkbox List of all Ratings            -   v. “Save Group” Button            -   vi. “Save and Exit Group” Button            -   vii. “Cancel” Button        -   e. The initial setup may be as follows:            -   i. If customer group is selected:                -   1. This may be treated as “Edit” mode and may                    populate the selected group's ratings into the list                    and Group Name textbox.                -   2. The User can then edit that group.            -   ii. If a system group is selected:                -   1. This may be treated as “Add group” mode and may                    list unchecked ratings into the list and Empty                    string in the Group Name textbox.                -   2. The User can check the ratings required, ensure a                    Group Name and save group.    -   6. The sources against which the query may be executed are as        follows:        -   a. All Debt;        -   b. Client Portfolio; and        -   c. Groups—(Each group may have User selected CUSIPS).

In the same GUI there may be a facility to invoke the Group Creation UI.A group is a collection of CUSIPS in which the User is interested. TheUser can create as many groups as he/she likes.

-   -   1. Upon creation of the groups, the group may be available for        selection as a source against which main query may be fired.    -   2. The Sub-Queries Section may also show a list of sub-queries        that are already being created and saved against the main query.        The User has the option to edit or delete the sub queries.    -   3. For certain filter parameters like {Rate Mode, Tax Status,        Amortization Status}, there is an option called “Any”. Selecting        the “Any” option in the Main Query Design may allow the        remaining options associated with the {Rate Mode, Tax Status,        Amortization Status} filters to remain enabled in the Sub Query        Design. For example, if the User selects the “Daily” option for        the “Rate Mode” filter, then in the Sub-Query Design, all other        options (Daily, Weekly, other) may remain disabled with “Daily”        as selected. On the other side, if the User selects the “Any”        option, the User is free to select any option (Daily, Weekly,        other) in the Sub-Query design.    -   4. FIG. 46 is a listing of fields that may appear in a “Query        Management Screen”:

Sample Query Building:

The following are specimen queries using the system of the presentinvention:

1. Main Query and Sources:

-   -   a. Step 1: Main Query=TE (tax exempt), CA (California)    -   b. Step 2: Sources:        -   i. All Debt; and        -   ii. Client Portfolio.    -   c. Result Lines—Query 1, All Tax Exempt California Debt:        -   i. All Debt; and        -   ii. Client Portfolio.

2. Main Query and Sources:

-   -   a. Step 1: Main Query=TE, CA, Hosp    -   b. Step 2: Sources:        -   i. All Debt;        -   ii. Client Portfolio;        -   iii. Group 1; and        -   iv. Group 2.    -   c. Result Lines—Query 2, All Tax Exempt, California, Hospitals        Debt:        -   i. All Debt;        -   ii. Client Portfolio;        -   iii. Group 1; and        -   iv. Group 2.            3. Main Query, Sources, Sub Query, No Sources (identifiers)            selected in step 4:    -   a. Step 1: Main Query=TE, CA, Hosp    -   b. Step 2: Sources:        -   i. All Debt;        -   ii. Client Portfolio;        -   ii. Group 1; and        -   iv. Group 2.    -   c. Step 3: Sub Queries:        -   i. JPM;        -   ii. Citi; and        -   iii. GS.    -   d. Step 4: Show sources in results:        -   i. NONE.    -   e. Result Lines—Query 2, All Tax Exempt, California, Hospitals        Debt:        -   i. JPM;        -   ii. JPM—Client Portfolio;        -   iii. JPM—Group 1;        -   iv. JPM—Group 2;        -   v. Citi;        -   vi. Citi—Client Portfolio;        -   vii. Citi—Group 1;        -   viii. Citi—Group 2;        -   is. GS;        -   x. GS—Client Portfolio;        -   xi. GS—Group 1; and        -   xii. GS—Group 2.

4. Main Query, Sources, Sub Query, Selected Sources:

-   -   a. Step 1: Main Query=TE, CA, Hosp    -   b. Step 2: Sources:        -   i. All Debt;        -   ii. Client Portfolio;        -   iii. Group 1; and        -   iv. Group 2.    -   c. Step 3: Sub Queries:        -   i. JPM;        -   ii. Citi; and        -   iii. GS.    -   d. Step 4: Show sources in results?

i. All Debt No ii. Client Portfolio Yes iii. Group 1 No iv. Group 2 Yes

-   -   e. Result Lines—Query 2, All Tax Exempt, California, Hospitals        Debt:        -   i. Client Portfolio;        -   ii. Group 2;        -   iii. JPM;        -   iv. JPM—Client Portfolio;        -   v. JPM—Group 1;        -   vi. JPM—Group 2;        -   vii. Citi;        -   viii. Citi—Client Portfolio;        -   ix. Citi—Group 1;        -   x. Citi—Group 2;        -   xi. GS;        -   xii. GS—Client Portfolio;        -   xiii. GS—Group 1; and        -   xiv. GS—Group 2.

Auto Generated Queries

For each client portfolio, system may auto generate some queries basedupon the characteristics of their portfolio. These queries may providethe basic ways the User would want to compare themselves against alldebt. To do this the system may analyze the client's portfolio for eachMeta Tag and determine which ones best represent the client. The ruleused to determine this may be:

-   -   1. For each Meta Tag, the system may determine which values have        70% or more coverage for the client. in one preferred        embodiment, the metatags that may be confirmed in this query are        IsTaxable, Is Amortized, State, Sector.    -   2. For remarketing agents, the system may take the top two        regardless of percentage.    -   3. The system takes the combination of these values and        generates queries.    -   4. Example:        -   a. The client returns the following tags with greater than            70%:            -   i. TE (tax exempt);            -   ii. CA (California);            -   iii. Hosp (Hospital);            -   iv. AA (rating);            -   v. CEP:                -   1. Citi.            -   vi. Remarketing Agent:                -   1. GS; and                -   2. JPM.        -   b. Automated Queries:            -   i. TE;            -   ii. TE, CA;            -   iii. TE, CA, Hosp;            -   iv. TE, CA, Hosp, CEP—Citi;            -   v. TE, CA, Hosp, Rmt Agt—GS;            -   vi. TE, CA, Hosp, Rmt Agt—JPM;            -   vii. TE, CA, Hosp, AA;            -   viii. TE, CA, Hosp, AA, CEP—Citi;            -   ix. TE, CA, Hosp, AA, Rmt Agt—GS;            -   x. TE, CA, Hosp, AA, Rmt Agt—JPM;            -   xi. TE, CEP—Citi;            -   xii. TE, Rmt Agt—GS; and            -   xiii. TE, Rmt Agt—JPM.

Whenever a User visits the “Query Generation Screen”, if the query listis empty then on form load, in one preferred embodiment a confirmationbox may appear saying “Do you want to generate queries automaticallybased on your portfolio?” On the User confirmation, the above logic maybe executed and a list of auto generated queries with checkboxes may belisted to the User in the popup itself. User can then select therelevant queries and choose to save the queries

Percentile Rank

Percentile Rank may be calculated the same as the Excel functionPERCENTRANK.EXC(array, x,[significance]). The array may be defined asthe average rate for all debt over the period in question returned bythe query. The x may be determined as average value of the subcategory(Group, Client, Sub Query) over the period.

Marginal Percentile Rate

This is the rate a client could save/lose by being in a differentpercentile rank. Marginal Percentile Rate may be determined in twosteps.

-   -   1. Determine the reset rate for each percentile from 100% to 0%.    -   2. Subtract the client's average rate from each result.

The reset rate for each percentile may be determined using the same mathas the Excel function PERCENTILE.INC(array, k). The array may be definedas the average rate for All Debt over the period in question returned bythe query. The k may be percentage in question with the result being thevalue.

Master Report

The system is designed to generate a Master Report. A Master Report is areport that comprises all of the reports selected by the User authorizedby the system settings and customer/client permissions. In oneembodiment, the User can view this report in a PDF format. The PDFgeneration is achieved through a PDF generation service. This report maybe delivered online, by Email or U.S. Mail at the User's option. The PDFis generated online and may be downloaded by User for viewing later.

The Master Report may be generated based on the frequency, emaildelivery true/false and email ids conFigured by the client in the MasterReport Configuration UI. If email delivery is set as false, the reportsmay be sent to the system support staff email id as per a configurationfile entry on the server.

Individual reports may be viewed online as html pages and may beexported to PDF or Excel. The online html reports do not need paginationand may be viewed as one webpage. Users with small screens may use thescroll bar to view the webpage, so Users with larger screens need not belimited to a small viewing area. Online reports may include configurablesettings, e.g. reset mode, date range and bucket lists. These individualreports may be viewable/sent to clients based on their registration.

A typical Master Report would include at least the following:

-   -   1. Required Pages:        -   a. Cover Page;        -   b. Table of Contents;        -   c. Disclaimers;    -   2. Optional Reports        -   a. Client Summary;        -   b. Client Percentile Summary;        -   c Client Portfolio;        -   d. Client Portfolio Detail;        -   e. Cost of Capital Summary;        -   f. Cost of Capital by Issue Type (Daily, Weekly, Other);        -   g. Stars List;        -   h. General Market Statistics—General;        -   i. General Market Statistics—States;        -   j. General Market Statistics—CEP;        -   k. General Market Statistics—Remarketing Agent;        -   l. Bucket List Reports—One section for each Remarketing            Agent in portfolio;        -   m. Comparison Reports:            -   i. Client Query Summary;            -   ii. Query Percentile Scorecard;            -   iii. Marginal Percentile Savings; and            -   iv. Query Average Rate Report (Optional).        -   n. Hedge Report.

Default report properties may be set in the Master Report ConfigurationUI. These properties are read before the Master Report generation. TheUI includes a drop down list of all prior years and YTD. Once set, thismay be the default reporting period for that client. The start year forthe drop down list mentioned above may be picked from a configurationfile.

For interactive reports only, the User may be given an option to setcustom reporting periods, e.g. selecting custom dates as reportingperiod.

On the Master Report Configuration UI, the User has the ability toselect different configurations to generate the final Master Report inPDF format, including:

-   -   1. Frequency at which the Master Report may be generated        automatically:        -   a. A set of radio buttons may have the values Daily, Weekly,            Monthly and Quarterly. This configuration may define the            frequency at which the system may generate the report.    -   2. Reporting period—i.e. Report generation default years (which        may be a listing):        -   a. This configuration defines the period of the data that is            used for analysis. This is a listing of years starting from            a year that may be picked from a server side configuration            file to the previous year. At the beginning of every            calendar year the listing may include the previous year.        -   b. Listing may also include YTD.    -   3. Common settings across reports. i.e. the same setting may be        applied across all the reports wherever applicable:        -   a. Include SIFMA rate in chart;        -   b. Remarketing Agent Bucket List—Percent Matching; and        -   c. The system may provide a check box list of remarketing            agents which clients may like to review. The selected            remarketing agents may be added to the list in case they            don't appear in top 20. The selected remarketing agents may            always appear in different color in the chart and the text            may be bold or may be in different color in the report.            Advertising fees might be charged by the system to the            remarketing agents for such listings.    -   4. Email delivery—true/false:        -   a. If the email delivery=true, this value defaults to email            of the User that created this account. This field is            editable, in which the User can add more ‘;’ separated            values.    -   5. Email id—the email addresses to which the reports may be        emailed.    -   6. Setting of which reports need to be included in the Master        Report:        -   a. This configuration may be shown in the form of a checkbox            list having the report names in front of them. The selected            report may only be included in the Master Report.

Report Levels of Detail

For each report on the Master Report, the following levels of detailhave been taken into account, wherever appropriate:

Summary

This report section may provide the aggregate analysis showing theoverall averages of each category along with some charts showing theoverall trend. It may contain the Quarterly and YTD details

Daily Average

This report would include a relevant graph showing the Daily Averageover time and then the details.

Weekly Average

This report section would include a relevant graph showing the WeeklyAverage over time and then the details.

Monthly Average

This report section would include a relevant graph showing the MonthlyAverage over time and then the details.

Quarterly Average

This report section would include a relevant graph showing the QuarterlyAverage over time and then the details. This section may always appearwith the monthly section.

Annual Average

This report section would include a relevant graph showing the AnnualAverage over time and then the details. This section may always appearwith the monthly section.

Client Reports

All of the client reports provide basic information about the client'sportfolio.

Client Summary

This report may provide the client with a snapshot summary of theirportfolio. This report may show various aggregates of the client'sportfolio that may have value. Some examples are:

-   -   1. Average Rates per Issue Type;    -   2. Average Rates per sector;    -   3. Total debt;    -   4. Number of deals; and    -   5. Average par.

The following data is required for the Client Summary Report:

Name Description Client Portfolio List of all the debt associated withthe client. All current meta-data for the portfolio may be availablefrom which to create queries. All Debt All the debt and its meta-dataare needed for all analysis compares. Client Queries List of all thequeries that analysis needs to be provided on.

Client Percentile Summary

This report may provide the client with a quick snapshot of how theirportfolio has performed against the Comparison Report queries over thelast week, month, quarter, year, and year to date. It may show thecurrent performance of all Comparison Report Queries that are markedShow on Master Report. Additional auto queries might be used as well,such as the client's state, LOC Providers, Remarketing Agents, businesssector, etc. These would all come from their portfolio and would showhow their related portfolio performs against All Debt of the same type.(These could also be pre-created queries).

Client Portfolio

This report details the client portfolio. The report is divided intosections based on Reset Mode: Daily, Weekly and Other. The Othercategory can be further divided into further subsets as defined by theclient. Each line represents a CUSIP or a unique Debt ID and a subset ofcharacteristics. Each security's rate statistics are presented,including Minimum Rate, Maximum Rate, Average Rate, Versus Avg. SIFMA,and Versus Avg. Client. The period of calculations is YTD. The followingdata is required for this report:

Name Description Client Portfolio List of all the debt the client hasassociated. All current meta-data for the portfolio may be available.SIFMA Rates SIFMA rates for the last year.

Client Portfolio Detail

This report details the client portfolio. The report is divided intosections based on Reset Mode: Daily, Weekly and Other. Each linerepresents a CUSIP or a unique Debt ID and all its individualcharacteristics (Meta-Tags). The report identifies how each security isdescribed in the database for purposes of comparison. The following datais required for this report:

Name Description Client Portfolio List of all the debt the client hasassociated. All current meta-data for the portfolio may be available.

Cost of Capital Summary

The Cost of Capital—Summary Report presents composite statistics foreach of the Reset Mode Categories, Daily Overall, Weekly Overall, andOther Overall. No individual security statistics are present on thispage, unless a Reset Mode category consists of only one security. TheDaily Overall, Weekly Overall, and Other Overall categories are alsoaggregated into All Categories Overall composite statistics. The abovecalculations are performed on a weekly, monthly, quarterly and YTDbasis. The following data is required for this report:

Name Description Client Portfolio List of all the debt the client hasassociated. All current meta-data for the portfolio may be available.

Cost of Capital by Debt Type (Reset Mode)

The Cost of Capital—(CUSIP Level) presents statistics for eachindividual security. Individual statistics and composite statistics forthe Reset Mode category are presented on this page. The abovecalculations are performed on a weekly, monthly, quarterly and YTDbasis. Similar reports named Cost of Capital—(Daily) and Cost ofCapital—(Other) exist and serve the same function. The following data isrequired for this report:

Name Description Client Portfolio List of all the debt the client hasassociated. All current meta-data for the portfolio may be available.

Bucket List Reports

This report identifies for the client which other securities in thedatabase had the highest number of identical reset rates as a clientsecurity. It identifies with whom the Remarketing Agent has grouped orbucketed a client's security. The report outputs the Average ClientRate, Average Bucket Security Rate, and the number of data points thatare exactly the same for the same dates in order of rank based on thenumber of data points from highest to lowest. Additionally, thecharacteristics of those comparable securities are identified such thatthe client can determine if the grouping/bucketing appears reasonable.The compare may be done on a per debt basis with only matching resultsgreater than a configurable percentage showing in the list. In onepreferred embodiment, the default percentage may be 85% and may beconfigured on a per account basis for the Master Report. The onlineversion of the report may allow the percent configuration to be changedand then ask if it may update the Master Report setting. The list may beordered from highest matching result to lowest. The following data isrequired for this report:

Name Description Client Portfolio List of all the debt the client hasassociated. All current meta-data for the portfolio may be available.All Debt All the debt and its meta-data are needed for all analysiscompares.

Asset/Liability Hedge Report

This report demonstrates the amount of notional/par of investmentsecurities is necessary to hedge the variable cash flows of the debtportfolio, based on different indexes, including treasuries, agencies,and the LIBOR index. It may compare the User's portfolio to the User'simputed investments. There may be a report that shows the totalinvestment vs. client's portfolio and one for each investment that hasbeen associated with a subset of the client's portfolio. The reports mayshow the average rate, total par, % hedged, and a graphic showing howthe values compare over time.

General Reports

These reports provide general market aggregation based on the overallmarket and some of the most common ways to look at the market. Inaddition to the standard date period drop down list, there may be a daterange that may allow the Users to see specific dates of interest.

Stars List Report

This report identifies for the client which other securities (forinstance, Top 25) in the database had best reset rates ranked from bestto worst. The report outputs the Average Client Rate and Average BucketSecurity Rate. Additionally, the characteristics of those comparablesecurities are identified such that the client can determine whichcharacteristics garner the best rates. The following data is requiredfor this report:

Name Description All Debt All the debt and its meta-data are needed forall analysis compares.

General Market Statistics Report

This report outputs the results of static general market queries. Thesections of the report include Tax-status, Underlying Long-Term Rating,Underlying Short-Term Rating, Credit Enhancement Long-Term Rating,Credit Enhancement Short-Term Rating, Credit Enhancement Form, SpecialtyStates, and Sectors. Each line represents a query on the database andthe statistics are presented, including Minimum Rate, Maximum Rate,Average Rate, Versus Avg. SIFMA, and Versus Avg. Client. The period ofCalculations is YTD. This report may be presented either as a compositeof all Reset Modes or individually by each Reset Mode. The followingdata is required for this report:

Name Description All Debt All the debt and its meta-data are needed forall analysis compares. SIFMA Rates SIFMA rates for the last year.

General Market Statistics Report—CEP

This report outputs the result of a static general market query focusedon the CEP characteristic. Daily, Weekly and Other Reset Mode sectionsexist, identifying which 20 banks deliver the lowest Average Rates. The20 CEP banks are ranked from lowest average cost to highest averagecost. Each line represents a query on the database and the statisticsare presented, including Minimum Rate, Maximum Rate, Average Rate,Versus Avg. SIFMA, and Versus Avg. Client. The period of calculations isYTD. The following data is required for this report:

Name Description All Debt All the debt and its meta-data are needed forall analysis compares. SIFMA Rates SIFMA rates for the last year.

General Market Statistics Report—Remarketing Agent

This report outputs the result of a static general market query focusedon the Remarketing Agent characteristic. Daily, Weekly and Other ResetMode sections exist, identifying which 20 remarketing agents deliver thelowest Average Rates. The 20 remarketing agents are ranked from lowestaverage cost to highest average cost. Each line represents a query onthe database and the statistics are presented, including Minimum Rate,Maximum Rate, Average Rate, Versus Avg. SIFMA, and Versus Avg. Client.The period of calculations is YTD. The following data is required forthis report:

Name Description All Debt All the debt and its meta-data are needed forall analysis compares. SIFMA Rates SIFMA rates for the last year.

General Market Statistics Report—States

This report outputs the result of a static general market query focusedon the State characteristic. Daily, Weekly and Other Reset Mode sectionsexist, identifying which states deliver the lowest Average Rates. Thestates are ranked from lowest average cost to highest average cost. Eachline represents a query on the database and the statistics arepresented, including Minimum Rate, Maximum Rate, Average Rate, VersusAvg. SIFMA, and Versus Avg. Client. The period of Calculations is YTD.The following data is required for this report:

Name Description All Debt All the debt and its meta-data are needed forall analysis compares. SIFMA Rates SIFMA rates for the last year.

Comparison Reports

The comparison reports may allow the User to compare any collection ofdebt against other collections of debt for the purpose of analysis. Theyalso may provide a comparison of the partial/entire client's portfolioagainst the market values. The collections of debts are:

-   -   1. Client's Portfolio;    -   2. Grouped Debt Lists;    -   3. All Debt (Entire system);    -   4. Main Query of Meta Tags against #1, #2, or #3; and    -   5. Sub Query of Meta Tags against #4.

A query may be comprised of a list of Meta Tag filters; it may alsoinclude the target data it may be compared against. For example, onequery might compare all HealthCare with a AAA rating against All Debtand the Client's portfolio. This would return the aggregate data againstAll Debt and against the Client's Portfolio. Sub queries can be doneapplying results of the main query against All Debt and/or the ClientPortfolio. If both are specified, it may show two separated queries withthe client's result showing “—Client” after the query name. E.g., if themain query was CA Hospitals, and the sub query was JP Morgan remarketingagent, and a User specified the sub query against the All Debt subresults and Client Portfolio sub results the report would have thefollowing lines:

Main Query/Name Sub Query Against CA, Hospitals All Debt JP Morgan JPMorgan All Debt JP Morgan - Client JP Morgan Client Portfolio

Each query may be saved and optionally identified for inclusion in theMaster Report. Queries included in the Master Report may also be on theClient Summary Report. The Client Summary Report may also show thecurrent performance of all Comparison Report Queries that are selectedin the ‘Show on Master Report’ checkboxes of the query managementscreen.

The output from the queries may be the following reports:

Client Percentile Scorecard

For all the queries that only have a main query and have the Client'sPortfolio and All Debt as sources, this report may show the percentilerankings of the query against the Client's Portfolio compared to thequery against All Debt. The results may be grouped by Issue Type, thenby date summaries (Weekly, Monthly, Quarterly), with a line for eachquery.

Client Percentile Summary

This report may show all queries that contain just a main query againstAll Debt and the Client's Portfolio. The report may show the percentilevalues comparing the Client's Portfolio against All Debt.

Client Query Summary

This report outputs client defined queries. Each line represents a queryon the database and the statistics may be presented, including MinimumRate, Maximum Rate, Average Rate, Versus Avg. SIFMA, and Versus Avg.Client. The period of calculations is YTD.

Query Percentile Scorecard

For each main query that has either groups or sub queries, a separateQuery Percentile Report may be generated. It may be similar to theClient Percentile Report except it may compare the groups/sub queries toAll Debt instead of just the Client's Portfolio. The Client's Portfoliomay also be included in this report. This may show the percentileranking of the sub query or group against the other sub query or groupincluded in the main query. The results may have a line for each subquery or group.

Marginal Percentile Savings Report

This report may show how many basis points (reset rate) each percentilerank may garner a client on a per query basis. This report shows all thequeries from the Client Percentile Scorecard and any Query PercentileScorecard that includes the Client's Portfolio compared to All Debt.This report identifies the marginal change in interest rates for eachpercentile. It is a measure of the savings that could be garnered byimproving the percentile ranking of the Client's Portfolio against AllDebt on a per query basis. In addition to showing the Reset Value, thisreport may show the marginal par value of savings.

Query Average Rate Report (Optional)

This report is an optional report that may provide the User the averageresults per week over the given time period of any query. It may be acombination of the Query Summary Report and Percentile Report with theexception that it may display the averages instead of percentile.

Marginal Percentile Rate

This is the rate a client could save/lose by being in a differentpercentile rank. Marginal Percentile Rate will be determined in twosteps.

-   -   1. Determine the reset rate for each percentile from 100% to 0%.    -   2. Subtract the client's average rate from each result.

Marginal Par Value of Savings

To calculate the par value of savings, multiply each Marginal PercentileRate by the total outstanding par of the client's debts that areincluded in the query.

Cost of Credit Enhancement Provider

The system may gather information about the cost of credit enhancementproviders. There are at least two ways the system may do this:

-   -   1. While creating a portfolio; and    -   2. Through a survey sent via email.

Both methods may use the same form and have some pre-completed values ifknown. The survey via email may be done by sending an email to allborrowers that have VRDO debt. The email may contain a link back to thesite to a form that contains all the debt the system has associated withthe borrower. For the client it may be filled with their portfolio. Theform may be similar to the Create Portfolio page, allowing them to adddebt in all the same manners. The exception may be that they also haveto specify the Cost of Credit Enhancement Provider as one of therequirements.

Patterns

The present system allows a User to look for various patterns insecurities data. For instance, the Bucketkey can be used to identify ifa debt has a set of matching rates over a period which might suggest thedebt is being combined with other Debts (debt grouping). Other examplesinclude how a Debt or security rates within its sector, how a Debtcompares to other Debts during periodic resets, efficiencies in CEPs,dealers and remarketing agents, etc.

For instance, to identify efficiencies in CEPs, a client portfolio iscreated and the portfolio contains more than one CEP used by the clientin the past. The client is able to use the present system to determineif the client should use one previously used CEP over another, or locatea new CEP.

A first pattern that can be identified in this situation is to determinehow the CEPs used in the past perform against each other, to see, forinstance, which CEP is getting the better rates overall as well as inthe client's portfolio. A query is created where the client selects thesources as ALL DEBT and CLIENT Portfolio and identifies the CEPs to becompared. (See FIG. 40.) A Query Summary Report would be produced as aresult of the query. See FIG. 41. Based on the results in the example ofFIG. 41, we can see that JPM outperformed Merrill by 0.018% on theaverage rate across all debts and that the Client's JPM tradesoutperformed the Merrill by 0.002% on the average rate.

An exemplary Query Percentile Report, as shown in FIG. 42, illustrateshow each source/sub query performed against the entire query.Specifically, the client's Merrill debts performed in the 89.9percentile for February, which means it is performing well compared toother CEPs. The client's own portfolio performed in the 75%, which alsomeans the portfolio performed well when compared to others who have thesame CEP.

An exemplary Marginal Percentile Savings Report shown in FIG. 43discloses how the client's portfolio performed against the entire queryfor the given calendar year and if it performed better than others, whatsavings would have been realized. In this example, the client performedaround the 83^(rd) percentile. If the client was to obtain a 0.007%better rate (about the difference of Merrell to JPM on the whole), theclient would save $804 over the year.

In this scenario, it is evident that the client portfolio has beenperforming well compared to others using the same CEPs.

The system can also provide information on how other CEPs areperforming. FIG. 44 is an exemplary report of CEPs having at least 100associated securities. JPM's average rate was 0.322% and Merill'saverage rate was 0.340% (FIG. 41). When compared to FIG. 44, it can beconcluded that the client's CEPs performed in the range of moderatelysized CEPs.

The system can be used to compare a client's portfolio to othercomparable portfolios. FIG. 45 is a group of exemplary portfolios. Thequery summary shows that the Client portfolio has the lowest averagerate, meaning it is performing better than its comparables.

FIG. 46 is percentile query summary that shows over smaller incrementsof time, the client's portfolio has performed better than the otherportfolios scoring as high as the 93^(rd) percentile in April.

FIG. 47 is an exemplary “Bucket List” query summary showing what groupor “bucket” of securities the remarketing agent has associated with theclient securities. A remarketing agent should find the rates that bestmatch the client's combination of CEP and client characteristics. TheBucket List identifies all other securities that have the exact samerate as the client security over a set period of time and a set percentof matching points (ranging from 5% to 100%).

From a review of the bucket list, it is apparent that the Bucket Listincludes a variety of different CEPs which should all have differentvalue in the market. Preferably, the Remarketing agent would havegrouped the client portfolio by a common CEP. Further, the sectors arevaried, including schools, medical companies and even a power company.Again, ideally, the client portfolio should have been grouped by acommon sector.

Based on this information, it is apparent that JPM is remarketing thelist of securities to a particular client of theirs where JPM providesthe same rate for the entire group instead of remarketing each of thetrades independently. Further, all of the securities qualify to trade atsome specific spread to SIFMA and the client's security just happens tofall into that spread value.

Process Overview Disclosed by Figures

FIGS. 1-5 and 24-26 describe overall functionality of the system and howthe system either collects data or generates data for reports. FIGS.6-23 describe how data is collected from the various data feeds in orderto assemble all of the information required to generate useful reportsas described above. All Figures are representative of specimenembodiments and are not limiting. As a further explanation of theFigures of the present invention, the following information and/ordefinitions of terms disclosed in referenced Figures is offered.

Reference Blocks

-   -   1. Rate and General Debt Transaction Information Service—refers        to the service that is used to get the resets (rates), the list        of debts, and the general debt information.    -   2. Ratings Data Service—refers to the service that is used to        get the credit ratings for each debt from multiple credit rating        vendors.    -   3. Meta Data Service—refers to the service that gets the        metadata for each debt that is not available from step 1 above.        This metadata is the primary data used in queries to the        database.    -   4. Benchmark Rates Service—refers to the benchmark rates that        can be used to compare the rate pulled in step 1 above as a        marked spread. The primary rate used, but not exclusive rate, is        SIFMA.    -   5. Database Machine—refers to the machine or website server 20        which may contain multiple database servers and multiple        databases in which the data from the feeds is stored and        combined to create the reporting data.        -   a. Rate and General Debt Data—refers to the data that is            retrieved from step 1 above and stored into a database.        -   b. Ratings Data—refers to the data that is retrieved from            step 2 above and stored into a database.        -   c. Meta Data—refers to the data that is retrieved from step            3 above and stored into a database.        -   d. Benchmark Data—refers to the data that is retrieved from            step 4 above and stored into a database.        -   e. Reporting Database—refers to the data that is the result            of combining data retrieved by data services in steps 1-4.            The data may be combined by various means to include but not            limited by the use of functions, sql queries, SSIS packages,            executable programs, web services, and scripts.    -   6. Website Machine—refers to the machine that takes in the users        input, performs logic to transform the reporting data into        consumable reports that include but are not limited to HTML web        pages, PDF files, and Excel files.        -   a. Generate HTML Reports—refers to the process in which the            website machine communicates with the User Machine via the            internet to receive inputs that are used to generate HTML            results from the data retrieved from the Database machine            and is then served on the users Browser or any application            that can consume HTML output.        -   b. Generate PDF Reports—refers to the process in which the            website machine communicates with the User Machine via the            internet to receive inputs that are used to generate PDF            Reports from the data retrieved from the Database machine            and can then be saved to the User Machine as a PDF file.        -   c. Generate Excel Reports—refers to the process in which the            website machine communicates with the User Machine via the            internet to receive inputs that are used to generate Excel            Reports from the data retrieved from the Database machine            and can then be saved to the User Machine as an Excel file.    -   7. Internet—refers the network of that allows communication        between any set of machines to include but not limited by any        User Machine and the Website Machine.    -   8. User Machine—refers to the machine by which a user can        communicate with the internet to the Website Machine. The User        Machine must be able to provide a means to input data by means        that include but are not limited to a Browser that is capable of        serving HTML requests.        -   a. Browser—refers to any program that is capable of serving            HTML requests.        -   b. User Input—refers to the need of user input to create            accounts, define portfolios, set report criteria, create            dynamic query criteria, define master report configurations,            and navigate HTML requests.    -   9. User—refers to any entity that has signed up for our service        and is capable of inputting data that can be consumed by the        internet to communicate with the Website Machine.

FIG. 1—Overview

FIG. 1 shows the general overview of the system of the presentinvention, including how securities data are gathered from databaseservices over a network, such as the internet, converted into a commonformat and mathematically manipulated using algorithms into a searchablereporting database. The reporting database is connected to a websiteserver. A User computer communicates with the website server via thenetwork (here, the internet). Queries are submitted by the user computerto the website computer to generate searches and search reports.

FIG. 3—General Data Flow from Data Sources (Data Feed Process)

FIG. 3 is a flow diagram illustrating how data is obtained from a DebtTransaction Information Service. Information is “pulled,” “processed”and mathematically manipulated with meta data to create informationuseful to an ultimate User of the system. The database machine 30monitors various networked databases. For example, one such data basefor bonds is called EMMA and is available at http://emma.msrb.org/. EMMAprovides raw data that is imported into a first database machine 30.This data is then transformed into identifiable transactions which isthen stored in a General Information database. From this information thesecurity identifier or CUSIP is obtained and used to obtain relevanttrade information from other data services, such as Ratings Data andMeta Data services Such related or corollary information is thenmathematically manipulated, combined and stored in a Reporting database.

Reference Blocks

-   -   1. Rate and General Debt Transaction Information Service—refers        to the service that is used to get the resets (rates), the list        of debts, and the general debt information.    -   2. Import Raw Transactions To DB—refers to process of retrieving        data from the service in step 1. The service sends raw sequence        numbers of all entries into the service's database. Each        sequence is a relation to an actual Transaction that sets the        reset (rate) for a CUSIP (debt). Each sequence can either        Insert, Modify, or Cancel a Transaction. This step imports all        the sequences.    -   3. Transform Raw Transactions into actual transactions—refers to        process by which the resolution of all sequences is completed        and the remaining transactions are updated based upon the        sequence either inserting a new transaction, modifying or        cancelling an existing transaction.    -   4. Store Actual Rate and General Info in DB—refers to the        process that stores the data retrieved from the actual        transactions in a database.    -   5. Get List of Debts for Feed to get data for—gets a list of all        the debts that have been pulled from the service in step 1 so        that the system can pull the additional metadata and ratings for        these debts.    -   6. Ratings Data Service—refers to the service that is used to        get the credit ratings for each debt from multiple credit rating        vendors.    -   7. Meta Data Service—refers to the service that gets the        metadata for each debt that is not available from step 1 above.        This metadata is the primary data used in queries to the        database.    -   8. Import Ratings Data to DB—refers to the process to take the        feed data from step 6 and store them in a database.    -   9. Import Meta Data to DB—refers to process to take the feed        data from step 7 and store them in a database.    -   10. Join Data From Feeds—refers to process that logically        combines the data retrieved from all the feeds.    -   11. Store Joined Data in Reporting DB—refers to process that        stores the combined data from the all the feeds.    -   12. Benchmark Rates Service—refers to the benchmark rates that        can be used to compare the rate pulled in step 1 above as a        marked spread. The primary rate used is SIFMA.

FIG. 4—how Data Sources are Joined in Reporting Data

The Benchmark Rate Source provides Benchmark rates that are stored inthe system. The Debt Rating service, combined with the Debts to DebtRating Data obtained from a rating data source can be combined with DebtRate Data to create a relationship of Debts to Debt Ratings over time orcan be combined with Meta Data to create a relationship of theOrganization Ratings over time. This information may be stored in a DebtRating or -Organization Rating database, respectively.

Debt Rate Data and Meta Data can be combined to create usefulinformation, such as the relationship of debts to meta data over time asa DebtHistory, the entire history of the ratings for debt, such as achange in a CEP over time, or if self credited, the credit rating of theorganization that owns the debt. Rating Data and Meta Data can becombined to create a relationship of an organization's ratings overtime. This includes ratings of all organizations polled, such asissuers, borrowers, CEPs, marketing agents and others over time. MetaData can also be combined with Debt Rate Data to create a Relationshipof Debts to MetaData over time.

The Debt Database stores such information as the par amount, name of thedebt, description of debt, etc. The Store Rates database contains suchinformation the reset rates for each debt, which is one primary basisfor comparison of debts, for instance, how does a client debt portfoliocompare to other similar portfolios in the same state, sector, etc.

The six database stores or “data silos” shown in FIG. 4 illustrate thesources of data that come into the system and how the data can becombined to create searchable databases. The “data silos” can be furthermodified to create more refined databases that can be searched moreeasily.

Since many debts depend on benchmark rates, benchmark rate sources arecontacted for benchmark rates over time, which information can also bestored in a database for data retrieval.

Reference Blocks

-   -   1. Benchmark Rates Source—refers to the benchmark rates that can        be used to compare the rate pulled in the Debt Rate Data Source        as a marked spread. The primary rate used is SIFMA.    -   2. Rating Data Source—refers to the service that is used to get        the credit ratings for each debt from multiple credit rating        vendors.    -   3. Create Relationship Of Debts to Debt Rating over time as        DebtRating—creates one or many relationship of what the debt        ratings are from multiple debt rating agencies over time. It        combines the data from the Debt Rate Data Source and the Rating        Data Source.    -   4. Debt Rate Data Source—refers to the service that is used to        get the resets (rates), the list of debts, and the general debt        information.    -   5. Meta Data Source—refers to the service that gets the metadata        for each debt that is not available from the Debt Rate Data        Source. This metadata is the primary data used in queries to the        database.    -   6. Create Relationship of Organization Ratings over time—creates        one or more relationships of what the organization ratings are        from multiple debt rating agencies over time. It combines the        organization data from the Meta Data Source and the Rating Data        Source.    -   7. Create Relationship of Debts to MetaData over time as        DebtHistory—creates the relationship of the general debt        information in the Debt Rate Data Source for each day a debt has        a reset to the metadata for each of those days from the Meta        Data Source.    -   8. Store Benchmark Rates—refers to process of storing the        benchmark rates that were retrieved directly from the Benchmark        Rates Source.    -   9. Store Debt Rating—refers to process of storing the resulting        data from step 3.    -   10. Store Rates—refers to process of storing the reset rates        that were retrieved directly from the Debt Rate Data Source.    -   11. Store Debts—refers to process of storing the list of debts        that were retrieved directly from the Debt Rate Data Source.    -   12. Store Debt History—refers to process of storing the        resulting data from step 7.    -   13. Store Organization Rating—refers to process of storing the        resulting data from step 6.

FIG. 5—Data Flow of Generated Tables.

As described above, Debt rates are reset from time to time. FIG. 5illustrates how rate resets are managed by the present system.

Rates or reset data is obtained from a rates data source. Commonly, thedata source only provides resets for business dates. Therefore, thesystem generates reset values for the missing or non-business days whererate data is not available. (Missing information that can beextrapolated or supplied by the system includes, without limitation,debt resets, meta data values and rating data.) These are known as“calculated resets.” This is necessary to determine the average rateover a period of time. This information is mathematically manipulated tocalculate reset debt values for established periods of time, such asdaily, weekly, monthly or annually.

For instance, if rates are reset weekly, the system would generate adaily rate to assist in determining daily averages. Similarly, thesystem may generate missing Debt Rating data. The Debt Rating data andCalculate Resets are then combined to create a rating for each day,which information is then stored in a Calculated Ratings Database forlater use.

The Calculated Resets can be used to create a searchable key or“BucketKey” and Values key with data from Reset Type, Remarketing Agent,Reset Date, Rate and Debt. These keys are then stored and can be used todaily search a desired combination of remarketing agent and reset typesto locate debts that match these queried criteria, which is one type ofpattern that can be located by the system. (Other search criteria can beused to identify other comparables and “patterns” between securities.)This information will identify how a security or portfolio of securitiesis being treated by a remarketing agent by identifying comparablytreated securities or portfolios. Thus, the search might disclose, forinstance, that the security or portfolio in question is grouped withsecurities that are clearly distinguishable from the specified security,and therefore the specified security should be reclassified and receivea better rating.

Additionally, some queries which are believed to be in demand orcommonplace can also be pre-programmed into the system so theinformation is always immediately available. For instance, theCalculated Resets can be used to generate a “Calculate Averages” searchresults for a number of queries based on various parameters, whichinformation may be stored in a Calculated Averages database.

Reference Blocks

-   -   1. Rates (Resets) Data—refers to retrieving the list of resets        and reset dates for each debt for each day the debt has a reset.    -   2. Calculate Resets For Every Day—refers to the process that        fills in reset rates between two reset dates resulting in each        debt having an appropriate reset every day.    -   3. Debt History Data—refers to list of metadata associated with        each debt on any given day.    -   4. Combine with Meta Data Debt History—refers to the process of        associating every calculated reset to a debt history for the        purpose of determining the values of the metadata for that date.        This allows for collecting aggregate data based off of resets        and metadata.    -   5. Store Calculated Resets containing Meta Data and rates for        every day for every debt—refers to the process of storing the        connections of calculated daily reset values and the associated        metadata for that date.    -   6. Calculated Resets—refers to retrieving the data collected and        stored in step 5 above.    -   7. Debt Rating Data—refers to retrieving the data collected that        contains the history of ratings for a debt over time.    -   8. Combine Debt Ratings and Calculated Resets to have the rating        for each day—refers to process of associating the daily resets        dates to the historical ratings and establishing what the        ratings are for every day.    -   9. Create Search Key (BucketKey) and Values Key with data from        ResetType, Remarketing Agent, Reset Date, Rate, and Debt—refers        to the process of combining multiple columns of data into a        single key that can be used to distinguish that a set of debts        all had the same reset type, remarketing agent, and rate on a        particular date. This data is aggregated in the Bucket List        report to determine what percentage of the debts are greater        than a set Matching Percentage to a particular debt.    -   10. Calculate Averages for queries that allow all for various        parameters—refers to the process of pre-aggregating data on        various sets of metadata. This metadata includes but is not        limited to aggregating on Reset Type, tax status, amortization        status, sector, and state.    -   11. Store BucketKey—refers to storing the bucket and value keys        in a database that were created in step 9.    -   12. Store Calculated Averages—refers to storing the calculated        averages from step 10.    -   13. Store Calculated Ratings—refers to storing the calculated        ratings from step 8        FIG. 6 Get Transaction Files from Bloomberg; Step 1        BatchStartupandBloomberg

FIG. 6 discloses an exemplary data feed from a web accessible Bloombergdatabase. Since the Bloomberg database contains both ratings data aswell as meta data, the system can be set up to selectively oralternately obtain rating and meta data from the Bloomberg website. Thisis a matter of programming as shown at 600.

If rating information is to be obtained, rating information is commencedas shown as 610. The system includes a failsafe arrangement forconfirming that the data transfer has started, as shown at 620, and thatthe data transfer continues until completion, as shown at 630.Similarly, the meta data system is commenced as shown at 650 and again afailsafe system, shown at 660 exists to confirm the data stream hasstarted and continues to run, as shown at 670 to confirm that the metadata system continues until completion. This arrangement is restartedfor every batch run, as shown at 680.

Reference Blocks

-   -   1. Start Short Feed—an application which calls the Emma short        Feed Subscription Service.    -   2. What to run based on day—On an alternating daily basis, the        system can either pull Ratings or Metadata for Securities by        Cusip.    -   3. Check for Process Started—Wait a minute and check for process        Started Flag. If Flag is not set in a timely fashion, send email        about failure.    -   4. Wait until process is done—Waits until the Process Done flag        has been set. If the process does not complete in a timely        fashion, send email about failure.    -   5. Send Completed Email—Send Email on Process Completion.        FIG. 7 Pull Transactions into Staging Database Called        SHORT.DATA: Step 2

Each time an edit or modification is made to a debt record, a record ismaintained of the changes. Each such modification is given a sequencenumber. These and supplementations are identified so that the entirehistory of a particular trade or debt or other tracked element can beanalyzed. FIG. 7 discloses how this information is pulled into a stagingdatabase.

The steps for pulling transactions into a staging database calledshort.data include obtaining the last Sequence Number processed from theDatabase, determining the name of the temporary file to process,processing all transaction files in the folder, transforming XML datainto a useable format.

The last sequence number of a series of transactions having a commonfactor or element is used to set up a temporary file name for each filein a folder set. The data may be provided in an XML format and istransformed and stored in memory for ease of use. Data is extracted andplaced into ResultSets and moved to a more permanent location in thesystem. The temporary file is then deleted.

The last sequence number processed from the database is obtained andused to determine the name of a temporary file to process. Alltransaction files in the folder are processed and the data istransformed into XML usable format.

FIG. 8 Get Transaction Files from Bloomberg

Referring to FIG. 8, XML data is transformed from memory and is filteredto eliminate already processed sequences. A new sequence number isassigned to the filtered results and results are placed in a ResultSetdatabase. Alternatively, the XML data can be filtered to eliminatealready processed liquidity facilities, assigning a new sequence numberto the processed liquidity and storing the data in a liquidityfacilities database. The result is data split into two parallel streams,one for debt results and one for liquidity facilities. In other words,the data is extracted into ResultSets, the ResultSets data is split intotwo parallel streams, one for Debt Results, one for LiquidityFacilities, already processed Sequences are filtered out, and theresults are stored in an appropriate Table. Finally, the file is movedto a Completed folder.

FIG. 9 Build Current State of End Results for all HistoricalTransactions: Step 3

FIG. 9 is a flow diagram for building an End Result Table. Each day, abatch is run to acquire relevant debt or security information. Theprocess includes creating a copy of an End Result Table as it existedprior to the start of the daily batch and naming it End Result TableOld. An empty End Result Table is then created into which is insertedthe new CUSIP Table data. A comparison can then be made with the countof the number of rows in the Debt Table to the new CUSIP Table. If thecount is the same, the database has been updated. It is also possible todelete all CUSIPs from the new CUSIP Table when desired.

FIG. 10 Build End Result Table

FIG. 10 illustrates a Build End Result Table. A query retrieves the LastTransactions by Sequence Number which are saved in a database called EndResults.

FIG. 11

FIG. 11 discloses obtaining a distinct list of CUSIPs which are new tothe system from the End Result Table. This is accomplished by insertingnew CUSIPs into both the Debt Table and the New CUSIP Table viaMulti-task.

FIG. 12 Get New CUSIPS and New Ratings Pull from Bloomberg: Step 4

FIG. 12 illustrates the process for obtaining new CUSIPs and new ratingsfrom the Bloomberg database, using Bloomberg as an example. Bloombergprovides both data sets and the system programming will dictate what andwhen each query will run. For instance, the system can be programmed toupdate new CUSIPs or new ratings on alternating days or throughout theday.

For meta data information, the new CUSIP inquiry is initiated at 1200. Aself-monitoring system 1220 confirms that the data query has commenced,or if it has failed, the system re-initiates the start after adesignated delay (one minute as shown in FIG. 12). The system alsocontinues to monitor transfer of data as shown as 1240 which includesthe same self-monitoring system, until the new CUSIP's update iscompleted as shown at 1260.

The new ratings batch run is conducted in a similar fashion. A query isinitiated at 1270, the system confirms that the data feed has beeninitiated as shown at 1280 and continues to completion as shown at 1290and 1295.

Initiation of both of these processes is typically signaled by an e-mailnotification. Once each process has started, a process Started Flagshould appear to confirm the process start. If the process is not timelystarted, an e-mail notification will be sent identifying the failure. Ina similar fashion, if the process does not complete in a timely fashion,an e-mail notification is sent regarding the same. Upon completion ofthe process, a processed completion e-mail notification is sent to thesystem operator.

Reference Blocks

-   -   1. Send email notification at start of task    -   2. What to run based on day—On an alternating daily basis, the        system either updates new CUSIPs or new Ratings.    -   3. Check for Process Started—Wait a minute and check for process        Started Flag. If Flag is not set in a timely fashion, send email        about failure.    -   4. Wait until process is done—Waits until the Process Done flag        has been set. If the process does not complete in a timely        fashion, send email about failure.    -   5. Send Completed Email—Send Email on Process Completion.

FIG. 13 Create the Full List of Liquidity Providers: Step 5

FIG. 13 discloses creation of a full list of Liquidity Providers. Thesets include empting the Precedence Table, creating a new organizationsand a precedence list, clearing the lookup table and rebuilding thesame.

Reference Blocks

-   -   1. Empty the Precedence Table    -   2. Organizations and precedence list        -   a. Referring to FIG. 14, gather a list of all Liquidity            Providers ordered by Precedence using the sum total of all            ParAmount values as the definition of Precedence.        -   b. Duplicate the data stream        -   c. Write the results directly into the Precedence list Table        -   d. Do conversions necessary to lookup Liquidity Providers            from the Organizations Table        -   e. Lookup Organization Record by Liquidity Provider Name        -   f. If no Match, fill in defaults for remaining values        -   g. Insert new Liquidity Providers into the Organizations            Table    -   3. Rebuild Liquidity Provider Lookup Table

FIG. 14

The system can create a list of all of Liquidity Providers in order byprecedence using the sum total of ParAmount values as the definition ofPrecedence. This data is then duplicated and the results are writtendirectly into a Precedence List Table. Necessary conversions are made tolook up Liquidity Providers from an Organizations Table. LiquidityProviders can be searched by Liquidity Provider name. If there is nomatch, other system values will be populated by default information. Ifa Liquidity Provider is identified, the name of the Liquidity Provideris posted in the Organizations Table and the Liquidity Provider LookupTable is rebuilt. The new organizations are inserted into theOrganization Database and the debt information is updated from theBloomberg archive.

FIG. 15 Insert New Organizations and Update Debts: Step 6

FIG. 15 discloses inserting new organizations.

-   -   1. Referring to FIG. 16, merging multiple Data sources into one        source, including:        -   a. Issuer        -   b. Remarketing agent        -   c. Borrower        -   d. Purchase Agreement        -   e. fallback Organization        -   f. LocProvider        -   g. Sort all Data Sources        -   h. Merge All Data Sources        -   i. Add Organization record Defaults        -   j. Sort all Merged records        -   k. Lookup by Name form the Organization Table        -   l. Insert newly found Organizations    -   2. Referring to FIG. 17, update Debt from Bloomberg Archive        -   a. Retrieve the latest set of records from the Bloomberg            Archive        -   b. Copy and Convert Data Types to match the Debt table            format        -   c. Update matching records in the Debt table

FIG. 16

FIG. 16 is a flow diagram showing how various information required bythe system is organized. In the top row of the flow diagram, variousparties involved with a transaction are identified, including issuer,remarketing agent, borrower, purchase agreement identifier, fallbackorganization identifier and LOC provider. These multiple data sourcesare, through this process, merged into one data source.

The process flow is as follows: The data sources are first sorted,grouped and merged. Organization record defaults are then added and thedata is resorted. The user is then able to look up an organization byname from the Organization Table created through the sort mechanism.Newly found organizations are inserted into the Table.

FIG. 17 Update Debt from Bloomberg Archive

FIG. 17 discloses the process by which debt information is updated fromthe Bloomberg archive. The latest set of records from the Bloombergarchive are retrieved, the records are copied and the data types areconverted to match the Debt Table format and updated matching recordsare placed in the Debt Table.

FIG. 18 Build the DebtHistory Step 7

The debt history is constructed as shown in FIG. 18. New CUSIPs areinserted into the Debt Table. An Execute Update Resets program isinitiated, which is a stored procedure for inserting new resets andupdating existing resets as needed from recent data acquisitions.Differences from the previous set of End Results Table to the currentset of data are determined and are stored as a change set in a ChangeTable. A query is then initiated for all unique dates found in theChange Table. These queries loop through the dates in the table one at atime by running a script to generate a query to find the necessaryrecords needed to update or insert into the DebtHistory Table. Thesystem then performs an update and inserts an insert on the DebtHistoryTable as necessary to accommodate all possible change sets of recentlyacquired data. Records are then deleted from the DebtHistory whererecent data acquisition results a rollback to a previous state ofinformation. Records are deleted from the DebtHistory if the records donot exist in the End Results Table.

Reference Blocks

-   -   1. Insert new CUSIPs into Debt Table    -   2. Execute Update Resets—Stored Procedure to Insert new Resets        and Update existing Resets as needed from recent data        acquisition.    -   3. Find all differences from previous set of End Results Table        to Current set and store as a Change set in the Change Table    -   4. Query for all unique Dates found in the Change Table    -   5. Loop through the Dates one at a time        -   a. Run script to generate a query to find the necessary            records needed to update or insert into the DebtHistory            Table.        -   b. Perform Update and Insert on DebtHistory Table as            necessary to accommodate all possible change sets of            recently acquired data.    -   6. Delete records from DebtHistory where recent Data Acquisition        results in a roll back to a previous state.

FIG. 19 Build DebtRatings: Step 8

FIG. 19 discloses the process for building debt ratings. The systeminitiates a query for new ratings and adds default user values to therating information. All of the data types are then converted asnecessary to perform searches for debts involved in the new ratings.Empty values are replaced with default values. This information is thenmulticast into three streams, one per rating agency (Moody is shown,although Standard & Poors and Fitch can also be utilized).

Reference Blocks

-   -   1. Query for New Ratings    -   2. Add Default Values    -   3. Convert Data Types necessary to perform lookups    -   4. Lookup Debts involved in New Ratings    -   5. Replace Empty values with defaults.    -   6. Multicast Data into 3 streams, one per Rating Agency        (Examples: Moody, Standard & Poors, and Fitch)

FIG. 20

FIG. 20 picks up where FIG. 19 left off and constitutes the Moodystream. The following actions are performed on the Moody stream, as wellas the other two streams from the bottom of FIG. 19:

-   -   a. Find the date of rating for the appropriate rating agency;    -   b. Fill in default values for other system dates;    -   c. Multi-task the streams to handle LTR, STR, LTU and LTER as        separate streams;    -   d. In each stream, assign default values to the organization        represented by that rating agency/stream combination;    -   e. Check to make sure value exists for the data point        represented by the individual streams. Processing is only        allowed to continue when the appropriate data points exist;    -   f. Look up rating i.d. represented by the current rating stream.

FIG. 21

The following additional actions are performed:

-   -   a. All of the streams are merged into one stream;    -   b. The organization i.d. is identified from the Rating Table        based on the rating i.d.;    -   c. Look up the RatingID of any previous rating for existing        debts that are participating in new ratings;        -   i. If no match is found, this is a new record and the            information should be filled in defaults for a system date            values.    -   d. If a new RatingID is different from an OldRatingID, update        the existing record to reflect the appropriate end date on that        Debt Rating Record.    -   e. Defaults are then filled in for system date values.    -   f. The Match values and No Match values from c. are united.    -   g. All results are then inserted into the Debt Ratings Report.

FIG. 22 Cleanup and Finish Bloomberg Batch: Step 9

FIG. 22 discloses cleanup and finishing the Bloomberg batch. An SQL taskis executed to find cases where the newly created Debt History Recordexactly matches the immediately preceding one for all meta data. Theprevious record is then deleted so that the new record becomes thecurrent record of interest. Log records are then deleted such that thereis always a roaming record of the last designated number of data pulls.Invalid securities are then located in proration of sending an alerte-mail that identifies the invalid security with appropriate identifyinginformation. The invalid securities list e-mail may be forwarded asneeded. When the batch is finished, an e-mail alert regarding the sameis sent.

Reference Blocks

-   -   1. Execute SQL Task to find cases where the newly created        DebtHistory record exactly matches the immediately preceding one        for all MetaData and Delete the previous record so that the new        record becomes the record of interest.    -   2. Delete Log records such that there is always a rolling record        of the last 50 Data Pulls.    -   3. Find Invalid Securities in preparation of sending alert        email.    -   4. For each Invalid Security add to a formatted email with the        necessary information about the invalid security.    -   5. As Needed send Invalid Securities List email    -   6. Send Finished Batch email.

FIG. 23 Merge Staging to Production: Step 10

The steps involved include

-   -   1. Merging organizations into a Sequence Container    -   2. Merging Debts into a Sequence Container.        -   a. Merge Resets;        -   b. Merge DebtRatings;        -   c. Merge OrganizationRatings;        -   d. Merge DebtHistory;        -   e. Send “Finished with Merge” e-mail.

FIG. 24 Bucket List Report Generation

FIG. 24 is the Bucketkey Report. The Bucketkey Report is designed tolocate debt or securities that meet a particular queried criteria. AUser logs into the system and is provided with a User input list ofdebts or securities. The User's AccountID is used to retrieve andgenerate a list of user debts and “BucketKeys” for search purposes. TheBucketKey Data Table is used to find debts that match specified criteriafor date ranges and matching percentages. For matching debts, meta datatags are obtained for creation of a report. A database of calculatedresets may also be tapped to determine averages for every debt. Tabulardata is provided which is transformed into a Bucket Report model thatcan be used to generate reports in HTML PDF or Excel file formats.

Reference Blocks

-   -   1. User—refers to any user on the system.    -   2. Input List—refers to the user input required to process the        report. This includes the date range of the report and the        Matching Percentage. The Matching Percentage refers to the        minimum percentage of matching rates over the date range. For        example if there are a 100 days in the period and the matching        percentage was 80% then a debt would have to match on 80 or more        of the 100 days.    -   3. Retrieve Account ID—refers to the process that retrieves the        Account ID based on the users login credentials.    -   4. SQL Machine—refers to the machine that processes the user        input and outputs tabular data results.        -   a. Get list of User Debts and generate BucketKeys to search            on—retrieves the list of debts associated to the Account ID            that was passed in and the associated metadata to generate a            search key.        -   b. Bucketkey Table Data—refers to table containing the            pre-calculated list of Bucketkeys that a search can be            performed against.        -   c. Search BucketKey for Debts that match and return those            that match greater than the Matching Percentage—refers to            the process that searches for all debts that match the            account's debt's search key. It returns only those debts            that match on a percentage greater than the matching            percentage passed in.        -   d. Debt History—refers to table that contains the history of            metadata for each debt.        -   e. For Matching Debts, get meta data tags for report—refers            to process of retrieving the metadata for the debts that had            greater than the matching percentage for that period of            time.        -   f. Calculated Resets—refers to table that contains the reset            values for every day.        -   g. Calculate Averages For every Debt—refers to the process            that calculates the average rate for every matching debt            over the date range        -   h. Return Tabular Data—refers to the process that combines            the outputs of a-g into a tabular data output.    -   5. Transform Data to Bucket Report Model—refers to the process        of mapping table values to the Bucket List Report Model object.        This stores the data in the memory of the website machine.    -   6. Serialize Model To XML—refers to the process where the Bucket        List Report Model is serialized into a XML format which can be        easily transferred.    -   7. Generate PDF or Excel File Through transform—refers to the        processes that both receive the XML Serialized data and        transform that data to either a PDF or Excel file.    -   8. Use Model to Generate HTML Report—refers to the process in        which the Report Model is transformed into a HTML view.

FIG. 25 Report Generation

FIG. 25 identifies the general process used to create any report. A Userlogs into the system and specifies report criteria, such as a date rangeor other factors. The system gathers additional data as required to makea request to the SQL Database Machine. Data from the website and from areporting database are processed in response to an SQL store procedureto obtain requested data which is returned in tabular form andtransformed into a report model. Again, the Report can be published inHTML, Excel or PDF format.

Reference Blocks

-   -   1. User—refers to any user on the system.    -   2. Input List—refers to the user input required to process a        report. This includes the date range of the report and any        report criteria needed for the report.    -   3. Gather additional data and make request to SQL DB—refers to        the process that retrieves additional data such as but not        limited to the Account ID based on the users login credentials.    -   4. SQL Machine—refers to the machine that processes the user        input and outputs tabular data results.        -   a. Input Data from Website—refers to the data that is sent            into SQL Machine for each report query.        -   b. Reporting Database—refers database that contains all the            tables and procedures necessary to generate any report.        -   c. Perform SQL Stored Procedure to obtain Data—refers to the            process of executing a SQL stored procedure to generate the            report data. Not all reports required a SQL stored procedure            to generate the report.        -   d. Return Tabular Data—refers to the process that outputs            the tabular data from a query or stored procedure.    -   5. Transform Data to Report Model—refers to the process of        mapping table values to the Report Model object. This stores the        data in the memory of the website machine.    -   6. Serialize Model To XML—refers to the process where the Report        Model is serialized into a XML format which can be easily        transferred.    -   7. Generate PDF Service—refers to the processes that receives        the XML Serialized data and transform that data to a PDF file.    -   8. Output PDF—refers to the processes that transfers the        completed PDF to the user's browser.    -   9. Use XML Transform to generate Excel file—refers to the        processes that receives the XML Serialized data and used XML        transformation to create a XML file.    -   10. Output Excel File—refers to the processes that transfers the        completed Excel file to the user's browser.    -   11. Use Model to Generate HTML Report—refers to the process in        which the Report Model is transformed into a HTML view.    -   12. Output HTML to Browser—refers to process that outputs the        HTML view as a webpage to a Browser.

FIG. 26 Master Report Generation

FIG. 26 discloses the process of generating Master Report. A User logsinto the system and specifies the Master Report Configuration that isused to define the report criteria for each report. For each reportdefined in the Mater Report Configuration: the system gathers additionaldata as required to make a request to the SQL Database Machine; datafrom the website and from a reporting database are processed in responseto an SQL store procedure to obtain requested data which is returned intabular form and transformed into a report model; and the report modelis serialized and added to a collection of the serialized model for theGenerate PDF Service. The Generate PDF Service takes the collection ofserialized models and generates a single PDF report with a Title page,Disclosure page, Table of Contents, and each report.

Reference Blocks

-   -   1. User—refers to any user on the system.    -   2. User Input—refers to the user input required to process a        master report. This includes the Master Report Configuration        Data which specifies the report dates, report list, and various        report criteria.    -   3. For each Report in List—refers the process that will loop        through each report and process that report saving the        serialized XML report result for each report.        -   a. Gather additional data and make request to SQL DB—refers            to the process that retrieves additional data such as but            not limited to the Account ID based on the users login            credentials.        -   b. SQL Machine—refers to the machine that processes the user            input and outputs tabular data results.            -   i. Input Data from Website—refers to the data that is                sent into SQL Machine for each report query.            -   ii. Reporting Database—refers database that contains all                the tables and procedures necessary to generate any                report.            -   iii. Perform SQL Stored Procedure to obtain Data—refers                to the process of executing a SQL stored procedure to                generate the report data. Not all reports required a SQL                stored procedure to generate the report.            -   iv. Return Tabular Data—refers to the process that                outputs the tabular data from a query or stored                procedure.        -   c. Transform Data to Report Model—refers to the process of            mapping table values to the Report Model object. This stores            the data in the memory of the website machine.        -   d. Serialize Model To XML—refers to the process where the            Report Model is serialized into a XML format which can be            easily transferred.    -   4. Collection of Serialized Models—refers to the output list of        serialized models that were created during the for each report        loop.    -   5. Generate PDF Service—refers to the processes that receives        the XML Serialized data and transform that data to a PDF file.        For the master report it will also generate a title page, a        disclosure page, a Table of Contents, and dynamically set the X        page of X based on the number of reports and how long each        report is.    -   6. Output PDF—refers to the process that transfers the completed        PDF to the user's browser.

In summary, the present invention can obtain and merge Meta Data andRating data from various sources, organize the information into asearchable database and provide any securities participant with criticaldata regarding how a security, portfolio or market participant performsin the marketplace as compared to similarly situated securities,portfolios or market participants.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method of correlating securities by securitycharacteristics to assess efficiencies or inefficiencies in the issuanceof the securities, the method comprising the steps of: a) providing atleast one network accessible program server having a query engine, datastorage and stored algorithms wherein in response to an initial input tothe program server: i) the program server initiates at least one queryto locate user selected security identifiers and rate data for at leasttwo select securities from at least one networked security rate server;ii) the program server initiates at least one query to locate userselected meta data associated with the selected security identifiersfrom at least one networked meta data server; iii) the program servercorrelates the securities meta data with the securities identifiers andrate data to create a searchable database on the program server ofsecurities characteristics that is searchable by debt securitycharacteristics; iv) the program server queries the database of debtsecurities characteristics to search for at least one user selected debtsecurity characteristic to identify a pool of securities having theselected characteristic; and v) the program server examines the pool ofsecurities having the selected characteristic and compares theefficiencies of at least one issued security to one or more of theremaining securities having the selected characteristic to ascertainefficiencies or inefficiencies in issuance of the at least one issuedsecurity.
 2. The method of claim 1 wherein the securities are variablerate debt obligations, commercial paper or auction rate securities. 3.The method of claim 1 wherein the step of correlating the securitiesmeta data with the securities identifiers and rate data ismathematically accomplished through the use of algorithms.
 4. The methodof claim 1 wherein the step of the program server initiates at least onequery to locate user selected security identifiers and rate data for atleast two select securities from at least one networked security rateserver includes using the program server query engine to communicateover the network with one or more security rate servers to obtain thesecurity identifiers and rate data for the at least two selectsecurities.
 5. The method of claim 1 wherein the step of the programserver initiates at least one query to locate user selected securityidentifiers and rate data for at least two select securities from atleast one networked security rate server includes using the programserver query engine to communicate over the network with the federalMunicipal Securities Rulemaking Board's electronic municipal marketweb-accessible server to locate user selected security identifiers andrate data for at least two select securities.
 6. The method of claim 1wherein the program server examines the pool of securities having theselected characteristic and compares the efficiencies of at least oneissued security to one or more of the remaining securities having theselected characteristic to ascertain efficiencies or inefficiencies inissuance of the at least one issued security includes examination ofcosts or timelines for issuance of the security.
 7. The method of claim1 wherein the securities are variable rate debt obligations, commercialpaper, auction rate securities or general securities.
 8. The method ofclaim 1 wherein the wherein the program server examines the pool ofsecurities having the selected characteristic and compares theefficiencies of at least one issued security to one or more of theremaining securities having the selected characteristic to ascertainefficiencies or inefficiencies in issuance of the at least one issuedsecurity includes the step of determining how to better rate, classifyand value a security to be issued based on the identified pool ofmatching securities.
 9. The method of claim 1 wherein the network is theinternet.
 10. The method of claim 1 wherein the user selected securityidentifiers, rate data and meta data are selected by one or more of thefollowing users: Borrowers looking to lower cost of capital, Investorsof Money Market Funds and Individually Managed Accounts looking to pickup yield, Dealers looking to rank their own performance by sectors totout superior performance, securities brokers, advisors looking for newrecurring services to provide to existing client base or CreditEnhancement Providers to assess the performance of previous variablerate debts, commercial paper or auction rates that the CreditEnhancement Providers are asked to enhance.
 11. The method of claim 1wherein the step of the program server initiates at least one query tolocate user selected security identifiers and rate data for at least twoselect securities from at least one networked security rate serverincludes using the program server query engine communicating over theinternet with the EMMA database to obtain the identifiers and rate datafor the at least two select securities.
 12. The method of claim 1wherein the securities are variable rate debt obligations (VRDO), andfurther including the step of the program server converting any metadata, rate data and associated identifiers having different formats to acommon format and correlating the meta data with the VRDO identifier andassociated rate data to create a database searchable by VRDOcharacteristics;
 13. A method of ranking the performance of participantsinvolved with the remarketing of securities using ranking criteria,comprising the steps of: a) providing at least one network accessibleprogram server having a query engine, data storage and stored algorithmswherein in response to an initial input to the program server: i) theprogram server initiates at least one query to locate user selectedsecurity identifiers and rate data for at least two select securitiesfrom at least one networked security rate server; ii) the program serverinitiates at least one query to locate user selected meta dataassociated with the selected security identifiers from at least onenetworked meta data server; iii) the program server correlates thesecurities meta data with the securities identifiers and rate data tocreate a searchable database on the program server of securitiescharacteristics that is searchable by debt security characteristics; iv)the program server queries the database of debt securitiescharacteristics to search for at least one user selected debt securitycharacteristics to identify a pool of securities having the selectedcharacteristic, which characteristic includes a participant identifier;and v) the program server examines the pool of securities having theselected characteristic and ranks the performance of the participantsbased on a comparison of the ranking criteria and the search results.14. The method of claim 13 wherein the participants are one of thefollowing: a group of remarketing agents, a group of dealers, a group ofsecurity issuers and a group of Credit Enhancement Providers.
 15. Themethod of claim 13 wherein the securities are one from a group of:variable rate debt obligations, commercial paper and auction ratesecurities.